Symptoms of Love
by xBandanaRosesx
Summary: Ash, Misty, May, Drew, Dawn and Kenny are forced to go on a journey together along with Brock and Max. When the girls come across an article in a magazine, will they all be at each other's throats or will love blossom along the way? Contestshipping, Penguinshipping & Pokeshipping
1. Prologue - Truth or Dare

_**Hi guys! I've been wanting to do another multi-chaptered story for a while, but couldn't think of an idea until now. From the reviews I read for 'True Love's Realisation', you guys liked it, but said it should have been longer, so I will put more detail into my stories for all of my readers =) Once again, I am using my three favourite shippings – Contestshipping, Penguinshipping and Pokeshipping. Enjoy! Here are their ages:**_

**Ash - 18**

**Misty - 18**

**Brock - 23**

**May – 15**

**Max - 12**

**Drew - 16**

**Dawn - 13**

**Kenny – 13**

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon or the characters**_

* * *

**Prologue - Truth or Dare**

* * *

It was Ash's 18th birthday and he was having a huge party back in Pallet Town. Many people were there from friends to family to rivals to people he had met on his journeys. Ash didn't want a fuss, but his mother, Delia Ketchum, insisted, so with the help of Professor Oak and Ash's friends, she called them all up and invited them. Due to the lack of space in their house, Professor Oak offered to let them have an outdoor party at his lab, so all the guests could let their pokemon play too. It was coming near to the end of the party and Ash decided to make a speech.

*clink clink clink* "Could I have everyone's attention please?" Ash asked as everyone grew silent.

"Uh, hi," he started as he laughed nervously. "I just wanted to say thank you to all of you for coming today. I've met a lot of great people over the years and I've made the best friends a guy could ask for. I know you all lead busy lives and it really means a lot to me that you took the time to come here just for me."

"Don't get soppy on us, Ashy boy!" Gary shouted, causing a few people in the crowd to chuckle.

"Shut up, Gary!" Ash shouted back. "Anyway, that's all I really wanted to say, so enjoy the party!" Ash exclaimed and the crowd cheered with him. He climbed off the box he was standing on and looked around for his friends. He spotted Misty waving at him and walked over to her.

"That was a great speech, Ash." Misty complimented.

"You really think so?" Ash asked, hope in his voice.

"Sure. It was short and sweet and came straight from the heart." Misty finished as she smiled warmly at him, causing a faint blush to tint Ash's cheeks.

"Uh, t-thanks Mist." Ash stuttered. Misty raised an eyebrow at this, but chose to ignore it.

"Why don't we go and find the others?" Misty suggested. Ash nodded in agreement and the two of them went off to find the rest of their friends.

* * *

The party finished and everyone was leaving while Ash and his friends stayed behind to clear up.

"I hate cleaning up. It's so boring!" May whined. Everyone else simply rolled their eyes at her childish behaviour.

"We know May. We heard you for the 10 billionth time," Drew teased. May puffed out her cheeks in annoyance.

"Shut up, grasshead!" May shouted as she glared at him.

"Grasshead? How original. At least I'm not an airhead," Drew stated matter-of-factly as he shot a smirk.

"AIRHEAD!? Why you!" May screamed as she lunged at Drew, but was held back by Misty and Max. She struggled against their hold as they gripped her arms tight.

"Alright, you two, enough of the lover's quarrel," Dawn teased. After hearing this, May stopped struggling and blushed bright red. Drew's cheeks could be seen bearing the same amount of red. The two of them made eye contact for a split second, but blushed heavily and looked away. They then silently continued to clean as everyone else chuckled and giggled at the sight, before helping them tidy up.

* * *

After cleaning up Professor Oak's lab, they all decided to go back to Ash's house. Ash's mom, Delia, remained at Professor Oak's lab to take a look at his newest research. As soon as they got there, Brock and Mr Mime got started on lunch.

"I'm hungry!" Ash groaned.

"It'll ready when it's ready!" Misty yelled as she whacked Ash with her mallet causing everyone to laugh at their antics.

"Okay, well I don't know about you, but I'm bored." Dawn said as everyone nodded in agreement.

"I know, why don't we play truth or dare?" Max asked.

"Yeah, good idea." Kenny replied

"Alright, since it's my birthday, I'm going first." Ash decided.

"Misty, truth or dare?" Ash asked.

"Dare, of course! I'm not scared of anything." Misty scoffed as she smiled smugly.

"I thought you might say that. Okay, I dare you to sit with as many bug pokemon as you can for 1 whole minute." Ash said as he smirked at her. Misty's smile dropped and was replaced by a look of pure horror.

"Y-you c-can't be serious!?" Misty asked.

"Oh, I'm deadly serious." Ash reassured. The menacing look in his eyes confirmed her worst fears.

"Alright everyone, let out your bug pokemon." Ash said. Everyone took out their pokeballs to release their pokemon, but Ash stopped Drew.

"You can leave Butterfree in its pokeball because it won't work on Misty." Ash told him.

"How come?" Drew asked.

"When we travelled together, the first pokemon I ever caught was a caterpie. At first, Misty hated it, but once it evolved into butterfree she was okay around it, so it won't affect her." Ash responded. Drew nodded in understanding.

As the bug type pokemon emerged from their pokeballs, Misty was soon surrounded by Ash's heracross and leavanny, May's beautifly and Drew's Masquerain.

"And go!" Ash shouted as he timed Misty.

~5 seconds later~

"AAARGH!" Misty screamed. Everyone covered their ears in fear that she may burst their eardrums.

"Get 'em off, get 'em off, get 'em off!" Misty whined as Ash chuckled. Ash, May and Drew returned their pokemon to their pokeballs.

"Misty…you only lasted…5 seconds!" Ash managed to get out in between laughs. Everyone else joined in, but soon stopped when they saw the murderous glint in Misty's eyes. Ash saw their scared faces and became confused.

"What's up, you guys?" Ash asked. They all pointed behind him and he gulped as he slowly turned around.

"Ash Ketchum…" Misty growled.

"Now, now, Misty. No need to do anything rash." Ash replied as he laughed nervously.

"…you know that I'm scared of bugs and yet you still use it against me. Take this you insensitive jerk!" Misty shouted as she smacked Ash with his mallet and knocked him out cold. Everyone just stared in shock and fear.

"What? It needed to be done." Misty simply replied. Everyone else just sweat dropped and laughed nervously as they slowly backed away from her.

"Alright, my turn. Drew, truth or dare?" Misty asked. Drew was about to say dare, but when he saw the mischievous smile that played her lips he decided against it.

"Truth." Drew replied.

"Aw, you're no fun." Misty said as she pouted. Then, a genius idea struck her and a smirk tugged at her lips. "Okay then, you have to promise to answer this honestly." Misty said.

"I promise." Drew reassured.

'This is gonna be good.' Misty thought. "Who are the roses really for, Drew?" Misty asked. A faint blush coloured Drew's cheeks as he prepared to answer the question.

"They're for Beautifly." Drew replied coolly. Misty and Dawn looked knowingly at each other as they saw through his excuse.

"Remember, you said that you would answer truthfully." Misty added.

"I am. Who else are they for?" Drew responded as he flicked his hair. Misty sighed as she realised that he wasn't going to give in.

"See. I told you they were for Beautifly." May said causing everyone around her to mentally facepalm.

"Anyway, I think it's my turn." Drew said. He looked around to see who to ask and then his eyes landed on May.

"May, truth or dare?" Drew asked.

"Dare," May replied, confidently.

'Perfect.' Drew thought. "Okay, I dare you to-" Drew started, but was cut off by Brock.

"Lunch is ready!" Brock called as he walked in.

"Alright!" Ash and May cheered. As May got up to go and get food, Drew grabbed her arm and pulled her back.

"I dare you to not eat for the rest of this game." Drew finished. May's jaw dropped as her eyes grew wide.

"B-but, I'm hungry!" May whined.

"Too bad." Drew replied as he smirked at her.

"I hate you." May complained.

"Love you too, May," Drew replied in a jokey way as he winked at her causing May to blush furiously and Misty and Dawn to share knowing grins. May looked on as everyone got their food and sat back down again as they began to eat. Drew knew May was watching him and ate his food particularly slowly to tease May further.

'He is so gonna get it.' May thought.

"Fine, it's my turn now." May grumbled as her stomach remained empty. "Dawn, truth or dare?" May asked.

"Hmmm, truth." Dawn replied.

"Okay, why does Kenny call you Dee Dee?" May asked.

"Oh, that. Well, when Kenny and I were in nursery school, me, him and our friend Leona were given the job of taking care of the nursery pokemon which were a Plusle and Minun. I wanted to be their friends, but I didn't realise that they didn't like the way I played with them, so they shocked me and hair went all static with little bits in it. Leona said it looked like I had dandruff and Kenny said it sparkled like a diamond, ergo the name Diamond Dandruff was born or Dee Dee for short." Dawn explained. As Dawn was telling her story, Kenny silently let Dawn's Pachirisu out of its pokeball and whispered something to it.

"Kinda like this!" Kenny shouted as Pachirisu used discharge on Dawn.

"Aaaagh!" Dawn screamed. After discharge was used, Dawn's hair was sticking up and sparkled like a diamond. Everyone covered their mouths to hold in their laughter, but they couldn't do it and they all burst out laughing.

"KENNY!" Dawn yelled as she tackled him to the floor. She tried to claw to at his face, but he managed to grab her wrists before she could do any harm to him. Once she stopped, she realised the position they were in and blushed madly. She quickly got up and turned away from him. A small pink blush could be seen tinting Kenny's cheeks as he sat up.

"Um, Max, truth or dare?" Dawn asked.

"I'll go with truth." Max replied. Dawn placed her index finger on her chin thoughtfully as she tried to think of a question to ask. When she thought of one, she put her index finger in the air as her mouth formed an 'o' shape.

"Why was Ralts your first pokemon?" Dawn inquired.

"Oh, that's an easy one. Back when I was travelling with Ash, May and Brock, I came across an injured Ralts. It was running a fever and needed medical attention, so we went to take it to the pokemon center. However, Team Rocket tried to capture Ralts, so Ash told me to go alone to the pokemon center while May, Brock and him tried to fend off Team Rocket. I wasn't very sure of myself at the time, but with the encouragement of Ash, May, Brock and Snorunt, I managed to get Ralts to the pokemon center where Nurse Joy healed it. Ralts had to go back with Kirlia and Gardevoir, but I promised Ralts that when I became a trainer I would come back for it, so that's just what I did." Max explained.

"Wow, what a great story." Dawn replied.

"Yeah, I think that was really sweet, Max." Misty added.

"Aww, thanks guys. Anyway, Kenny, truth or dare?" Max questioned.

"I choose dare." Kenny replied.

"I dare you to kiss the girl that you most like in this room." Max said causing Kenny to blush. Max looked over at Misty and winked at her as she grinned back at him. Max had agreed to help Misty get Dawn and Kenny together if she helped him to get May and Drew together because it was so obvious that both couples liked each other, but they were either too blind to see it or refused to admit it.

'There's no getting out of this one.' Kenny thought, so he quickly pecked Dawn on the cheek and sat back down. Dawn blushed as she slowly reached her hand up to touch her cheek.

"Hey, that wasn't a proper kiss!" May complained.

"True, but I didn't specify where, so Kenny managed to find a loophole." Max commented. May pouted because she wanted to see Dawn and Kenny get together as much as Misty did.

"Okay Ash, truth or dare?" Kenny asked.

"Truth." Ash responded.

"Do you want this game to finish as much as I do?" Kenny asked.

"Yeah." Ash replied.

"Yes! That means I can finally eat!" May cheered as she sprinted over to the food.

"Jeez May, the foods not gonna run away you know." Drew commented.

"Oh yeah, well if _someone_ hadn't stopped me from eating then I wouldn't be so hungry, would I?" May retorted with her mouth full of food.

"At least try to act like a lady, May. You're such a pig." Drew added.

"You know what, Drew. I've had just about enough of you." May started as she looked around for something to throw. Then, she spotted a piece of birthday cake on the table. She picked it up and aimed at Drew. "Take this!" May shouted as she threw the piece of cake at Drew which landed in his hair.

"Noooo, not the hair, May! You are so going to pay for that!" Drew roared as he picked up a sandwich and chucked it at May's head.

"Eeeep!" May squealed as she ducked and narrowly missed the flying sandwich. The sandwich went over May's head and hit Misty square in the face. As the sandwich slid down her face and onto the floor, Misty shot Drew the scariest death glare known to man. Drew gulped in fear knowing that he was in for it while everyone else backed away to escape Misty's wrath.

"Drew…" Misty snarled as she picked up another piece of cake.

"Food fight!" Ash cried as everyone started tossing food at each other.

* * *

*crash*

'What is going on?' Brock wondered. He walked into the living room to see what was going on when… *splat* Brock grumbled as he wiped the cake off his face and saw that the others were in a full on food fight. He pulled a pokeball and released one of his pokemon.

"Crobat, use supersonic!" Brock commanded. Crobat complied with its trainer's orders and used supersonic causing everyone to stop in their tracks and hold their ears in pain.

"Thanks, Crobat. Return." Brock said as he returned his pokemon. "Just what is going on here?" He asked.

"Well, Drew started it…and May ruined my hair…and Ash yelled food fight!" Everyone started yelling all at once and Brock couldn't hear a word they were saying.

"Hey!" Brock shouted, making everyone silent. "Now, one at a time." Brock said.

"Well, I suggested that we play truth or dare…" Max started.

"…then we all asked questions or gave each other dares…" Ash continued.

"…such as Drew daring May not to eat until the game was finished…" Misty carried on.

"…and then Drew insulted me for wanting to eat, so I threw a piece of cake at him…" May added.

"…which ruined my hair, so I threw a sandwich at May…" Drew resumed.

"…which then hit Misty in the face…" Dawn progressed.

"…and then Ash yelled food fight…" Kenny pressed on.

"…and here we are." Brock finished. Brock sighed as he tried to think of a way to resolve the situation. Suddenly, an excellent idea struck him.

"You were all playing truth or dare, right? Can I have a go?" Brock asked.

"Sure thing, Brock." Ash replied.

"Okay, but instead of you asking me, I'm going to ask all of you. Truth or dare?" Brock questioned. Everyone looked at each other and nodded agreement.

"Dare." They answered in unison.

"Just like I thought. Hey Max, come here a minute," Brock called as Max walked over to him. He whispered his plan into Max's ear and Max nodded at Brock in silent agreement as he smirked at the others.

"I dare you to all go on a journey together. With Max and I of course." Brock challenged.

"What!? You want me to travel with him/her!?" May, Drew, Dawn and Kenny all replied. Ash and Misty didn't have much of a problem with it seeing as they have already travelled together before.

"You're on." Ash agreed.

"Great." Brock responded.

"Hey! You can't agree for us!" May cried.

"Aw come on, it won't be that bad." Max commented.

"Yes it will!" They replied in unison.

"Look, we're all going on this journey together or you're all going to get whacked with my mallet!" Misty threatened. None of them wanted to feel the pain of Misty's mallet, so they all agreed to travel together.

"What about the gym, Misty?" Ash asked.

"After being left with the gym for so long, it's time I took a break for once. Don't worry, I'll make sure my sisters look after the gym." Misty replied, with an evil glint in her eyes.

"Alright, now that that's sorted, where shall we go?" Brock asked.

"Ooh, I really want to go to the Sinnoh region. I've been wanting to compete in the contests there since I went there for the Wallace Cup." May responded.

"Okay, anyone have a problem with that?" Brock asked. They all shook their heads, agreeing with May's suggestion.

"The Sinnoh region it is then! We'll leave first thing tomorrow!" Ash declared.

"Right, now let's all get cleaned up." Brock replied as they all went to clean up the house and themselves.

* * *

"Alright, mom, we better get going." Ash said.

"Okay, dear. You look after yourself and don't forget to change your underwear every day." Delia replied.

"Mom!" Ash cried as he blushed in embarrassment. Everyone chuckled at the sight.

"Now, you'll all take good care of my Ash, won't you?" Delia asked.

"Yes, Mrs Ketchum." They all responded in unison.

"Bye Mom! Bye Mr Mime!" Ash said.

"Bye dear!" Delia replied.

"Mime!" Mr Mime responded.

'My Ash is all grown up.' Delia thought.

As Ash's mom waved them off, the eight of them all headed out on their new journey together.

* * *

_**Hope you enjoyed it! Let me know what you think of this story so far! Please R&amp;R!**_

_**xBandanaRosesx**_


	2. Chapter 1 - The Magazine

_**Hi guys! This is the first official chapter that will help lead into the main plot of story. Enjoy!**_

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon**_

* * *

**Chapter 1 – The Magazine**

* * *

The gang had just left from Ash's house in Pallet Town and were now on their way to the ferry port. They had just taken a break by a large lake to let their pokemon out to play.

"Hey Brock, what time does our ferry leave?" Ash asked.

"It leaves at 3pm." Brock replied.

"Ok, well its 10am now, so that means we have 5 hours until we have to leave. What should we do until then?" Misty asked.

"I know! There's a great restaurant by the ferry port called Poké Chef. I read about it my magazine." May suggested as she got out her 'Kanto: Guide to Good Food'.

"Of course, you'd know that, May. All you ever think about is food. I'm surprised you're not fat by now." Drew remarked. May didn't react at all, but instead a tiny smirk was plastered on her face. Drew was confused by this until…

*Whack*

"Ouch! What was that for?" Drew groaned as he rubbed the lump that was forming on the back of his head, thanks to Misty's mallet.

"I thought you might say something like that, which is why I bought Malletware before we left." May stated.

"Malletware?" Drew questioned.

"Right. May and I each paid Misty, 10 dollars, and in return she gives us protection by whacking any of you boys with her mallet when you say or do something out of line." Dawn explained.

"So, how do we know if something is 'out of line'?" Kenny asked, using air quotes.

"Thought you'd never ask. Misty created an information leaflet just for such an occasion. I'm sure Ash is already familiar with it, so you and Drew might want to take a look at it." May replied as she held out the leaflet to the two boys. Drew took the leaflet from May's hands and opened it up for him and Kenny to read.

_**Misty's Mallet 'DO NOTS'**_

DO NOT insult Misty.

DO NOT insult Misty's best friends.

DO NOT make a girl cry.

DO NOT make fun of a girl's weight.

DO NOT mess with a girl's emotions.

"Well, that's quite a few rules to remember." Kenny said once he finished reading.

"That's right, so you better make sure that you stick by them encase you want to get a taste of Misty's mallet, Kenny." Dawn told him.

"Yeah, you saw what happened to Drew when he disobeyed rule number 2 &amp; 4\. Plus, if he doesn't apologise for calling me fat, right now, then he's going to get another whack for disobeying rule number 3." May replied as tears threatened to spill over, so she covered her face with her hands, pretending to cry. Although, to Drew, it looked like she was really upset. He looked behind him and saw Misty hovering above him with her mallet, about to strike if he doesn't do something. He gulped and proceeded to comfort her.

"I'm sorry, May. I didn't mean what I said. Please don't cry," Drew apologised as he rubbed May's back.

"That's okay. I forgive you, Drew," May answered, cheerily, as she gave Drew a hug. Drew was slightly taken aback by her sudden change of mood, but hugged her back anyway. The two of them stayed like that for a long while until Dawn purposely coughed, and they both broke apart blushing.

"Well, I think we should get going if we want to stop by that restaurant for lunch." Brock said. The others agreed and returned all their pokemon before setting off for the ferry port, once again.

* * *

"Alright, guys. It's 11am now, so if we have lunch at 2pm, then that gives us 3 hours. What do you want to do?" Brock asked. May and Dawn looked at each other and shared knowing smiles.

"Uh oh. We know what that looks means." Drew, Kenny and Max all replied, terrified, in unison.

"Shopping!" May and Dawn exclaimed. May grabbed Drew and Max while Dawn grabbed Kenny and Misty. Ash tried to escape, but Misty grabbed onto him tight.

"Brock, help me!" Ash cried. Brock chuckled at the sight of everyone being dragged to the mall by May and Dawn.

"I'm going to stock up on supplies before lunch. Have fun you guys!" Brock called out as he waved at them before walking off, laughing.

* * *

"Okay, Misty, you're coming with me and Dawn. Boys, you can look around this shop while you're waiting, but if any of you dare leave, then it will be a date with Misty's mallet for you!" May threatened.

"Hang on a minute, that's not a rule." Drew pointed out. The girls all rolled their eyes in unison.

"Seriously, does it even need to be a rule? You know that when a girl wants to go shopping, you either go with her or die. It's just common knowledge." Dawn explained. The boys all nodded in understanding.

"Alright, see you later, boys!" May called as she and Dawn dragged Misty away. Misty gave Ash a pleading look, but he just chuckled and waved at her. She then proceeded to give him one of her best death glares that said 'You are so gonna die later' which made Ash gulp in fear.

* * *

"How about this one?" May asked.

"Too girly." Misty replied.

"This one?" Dawn questioned.

"Too pink," Misty groaned in disgust.

"Ugh, come on, Misty, there must be something you like!" May complained. May and Dawn had been trying to get Misty to buy more girly clothes, so they tried to find her a bikini. Misty had a skeptical look on her face, but she took a look around the shop anyway. Her eyes scanned the racks and stopped on a turquoise tankini with a picture of a horsea in the corner. May and Dawn followed Misty's gaze and spotted the tankini, before sharing knowing looks.

"That one!" May and Dawn exclaimed.

* * *

While the girls were shopping for clothes, the boys were looking around the store they were all in called 'Poké Chic'.

"Man, why do we always get dragged shopping," Kenny complained.

"I don't know what you're complaining about. Being the little brother, I got dragged around shops all the time with my sister and my mum." Max stated.

"Yeah and I've been shopping with your sister. Compared to May, Dawn can't be that bad. The last time I had to go shopping with May, she made me carry all the bags and threatened to fire blast me with me her Blaziken if I refused." Drew explained.

"Can't be that bad? The last time Dawn forced me to go shopping with her, I had to go carry all her bags and pay for both of our lunches. Then, to top it all off, when I made the mistake of trying to run away, she set all of her pokemon on me. Piplup used whirlpool on me, Buneary froze me with ice beam, Quilava melted the ice and burned me with flamethrower, Pachirisu used discharge to shock me, Togekiss used air slash and finally, Mamoswine used take down. You really think May is worse than that?" Kenny questioned.

"Okay, okay, you win, but how do you think Ash handled it? He travelled with Misty through 3 different regions." Drew told him. Both Kenny and Drew shuddered at the thought of travelling around with Misty's unrelenting fury and her mallet.

"I don't think it would be that bad. I think travelling with Misty would be fun." Max cut in.

"Yeah, but that's because you two are both the youngest of your families, so you have something in common. Therefore, she is nice to you, but for us, everything we do is wrong." Kenny replied. "Why don't we just ask Ash?" Kenny suggested. "Hey Ash, come over here for a minute," Kenny called.

"What's up guys? Ash asked.

"Me and Kenny have some scary stories about May and Dawn going shopping, but I'm sure yours are worse. How did you manage to survive travelling and shopping with Misty through Kanto, Orange Islands and Johto?" Drew asked.

"Oh, well travelling was alright because I had Brock there with me, so she was mainly focused on dragging him away from girls." Ash explained. Kenny, Max and Drew chuckled and nodded in agreement. "As for shopping, we hardly did any of that. Misty hated clothes shopping and most girly things. Perks of travelling with a tomboy." Ash stated.

"Wow, you are so lucky man." Kenny replied.

"Why is Ash lucky?" Dawn inquired.

"Uh, no reason," Kenny responded, quickly. Dawn gave him a doubting look, but decided to drop it.

"Anyway, let's go everyone!" May exclaimed as the girls dumped all their shopping bags on the guys and walked off while the boys trailed behind.

* * *

Meanwhile, while the rest of them were off shopping, Brock was stocking up on supplies at the Poké Mart.

"Alright, so we need potion, pokemon food, berries…" Brock trailed off as a beautiful woman came in to view. She was wearing a plain white dress with a light grey ¾ length sleeve blazer and grey flats. She had hazel eyes and mid-back chocolate brown hair.

"Wow!" Brock exclaimed as he rushed up to the woman, startling her. "Excuse me, Miss. I just had to come over here and tell you that you are most beautiful woman that I have ever laid eyes on. Your flawless skin and your hair as smooth as silk- AARGH!" Brock complimented, but was cut of Croagunk's poison jab.

"That slips right through my fingers, just like you…" Brock managed to get out before he collapsed to the floor in a heap and was dragged off by Croagunk. The lady stared in shock at the events that just took place before continuing with her shopping.

* * *

After everyone finished with their business, they met up at the ferry port at 2pm, just as planned, before May took them to Poké Chef.

"Here it is!" May exclaimed. The restaurant was a huge brown building with two gold doors on the front. The words 'Poké Chef' were written at a diagonal angle in large gold letters on the sign and next to the words was a picture of a charmander wearing a chef's hat.

"Aww, the charmander is so cute!" Dawn cooed. Kenny sniggered, from behind, at her childish actions.

"What's so funny?" Dawn asked as she turned around to look at him with her hands on her hips.

"Nothing, _Dee Dee_," Kenny teased. As soon as she heard this, her face turned red with anger and she glared daggers at him.

"My name is DAWN!" Dawn screamed causing Kenny to laugh even more. Before Dawn could strangle him, Ash and Brock held her back while Misty whacked Kenny with her mallet.

"Hey!" Kenny cried.

"What? You broke rule number 5 'Do not mess with a girl's emotions' ergo, you got whacked." Misty explained.

"Can we please go and eat now?" Ash whined. Everyone nodded in agreement and Ash raced into the restaurant causing everyone to sweat drop at his behaviour.

* * *

"Wow, there's so much to choose from! I have no idea what to choose." May said as she struggled to pick something for lunch.

"Well, let's see. Ash is having a hotdog from Unova, Misty and Max are having dumplings from Johto, Brock is having fish with miso from Kanto, Drew is having noodles from Hoenn, I'm having seafood from Sinnoh and Kenny is having soup from Kalos. Why don't you choose one of those, May?" Dawn explained.

"I do love the noodles from Hoenn, so I'll have what Drew is having." May decided. They gave their orders to the waitress and she took them to the chef.

"Of course you would copy me. I am better than you after all," Drew said, haughtily.

*Whack*

"Anything else you want to say, Drew?" May asked, giggling. Drew shook his head and shrunk down in his seat. Just then, the waitress came back and brought their food.

"Yes! The food's here!" Ash and May cheered before they dug in. You'd think they were having an eating contest, the pace they were eating at. Suddenly, Ash's face turned red as he started to choke. Pikachu used iron tail to hit him on the back and a piece of food flew out of his mouth and onto Brock's forehead.

"Sorry," Ash apologised. "Thanks buddy," Ash said to Pikachu, gratefully.

"Pika. Pi." 'No problem.' Pikachu replied before finishing off its ketchup that Ash had given it. When Ash and Pikachu were travelling through the Kalos region, Corina, the Shalour City gym leader, used ketchup to take Pikachu's paw print, so Pikachu tried some and took a liking to it. Everyone laughed at Ash and Pikachu's antics and continued eating their lunch.

* * *

After dinner, it was time to board the ferry. Brock gave them all their tickets and they went to go and see Nurse Joy to get their room keys. Upon arriving, Brock went crazy.

"Aaah!" Brock cried as he stood in front of her and grabbed both of her hands. "My dear Nurse Joy, your eyes sparkle like diamonds and your smile can light up a room…" Brock trailed off. Croagunk got out of its pokeball and was about to attack Brock with a poison jab when…

"Croagunk!" Dawn cried.

"Croa?" 'Huh?' Croagunk asked. Dawn beckoned it over to her and Croagunk obeyed.

"Why don't you sit this one out? Then you can see how it's really done." Dawn told it. Croagunk had a confused look on its face, but agreed anyway.

"You want to take this one or shall I?" Misty asked Max.

"You may have the honours, master," Max joked as he did fake bow. Misty giggled before taking care of business.

"…you and I- Ow! Not the ear! AARGH!" Brock cried as Misty grabbed his ear and tossed him over her shoulder. Brock hit the floor with a loud thud and Croagunk dragged him away. Everyone sweat dropped and smiled sheepishly as they looked on.

"Sorry about that, Nurse Joy. Do you have a room of 5 and room of 3?" Misty asked.

"Oh, I'm sorry, but I'm afraid we only have four rooms of 2 left," Nurse Joy replied regretfully.

"Thanks anyway, Nurse Joy. Well, what do we do know?" Misty asked.

"I have a suggestion." Brock replied.

"Wow, you recover fast," Dawn responded, shocked.

"Years of practice. Anyway, if Max and I share a room then that means it's equal for you to split rooms. One girl with one boy." Brock finished.

"What? No way!" They cried.

"Remember, it's only for one night." Brock added. "Plus, in case you forgot, the whole point of this journey was for you all to get along with each other, instead of arguing all the time. So, here's how the rooms will work: Ash with Misty, May with Drew and Dawn with Kenny." Brock finished. "No arguments!" Brock sternly told them before they tried to complain about it.

"Right, well, it's 4pm now and dinner isn't until 6, so what should we do?" Max asked.

"I remember the brochure saying something about there being a pool on board." Brock suggested." The girls and boys all looked at each other, sharing the same look.

"Pool!" They all cried.

* * *

Once they all agreed, they went to their rooms to get changed before they went to the pool. When May and Drew reached their room, they both ran to get to the bathroom first, but Drew was faster and managed to get in there before May did, so while Drew was changing, May was sitting on her bed pouting.

"Dreewwwwww! Hurry up, you're taking forever!" May whined.

"Sheesh, May. Do you have no patience at all? I've only been in here for about five minutes." Drew replied.

"That's still really long!" May protested.

"Sorry, you'll just have to wait," Drew responded in a sing-song way.

"Drew, you open that door this instant before I break it down!" May yelled.

"Oooh! I'm so scared!" Drew teased.

"That's it! You asked for it mister!" May shouted through the door as she backed up and prepared to ram the door. Drew chuckled and shook his head at her childish behaviour.

'She's so cute when she's angry.' Drew thought. 'Wait a second, why I am thinking like that? I don't like her.' Drew told himself once he realised what he was just thinking.

"1, 2, 3! AAAHHHH!" May roared as she charged at the door. Drew timed it perfectly and opened the door just as May was about to hit it, causing her to fall flat on her face.

"Well, May. I knew you'd fall for me sooner or later." Drew stated. May got up and growled as she turned to look at him, but her anger soon dissipated and her cheeks were burning for whole other reason once she caught sight of him. Drew was clad in his purple board shorts and emerald flip flops, but he was shirtless. May had to keep herself from drooling at the sight of his toned muscles and abs.

'He is so hot.' May thought to herself. 'Hang on, that's not how I'm supposed to think of him. He's just a rival.' May told herself.

"Like what you see, May?" Drew asked, arrogantly. He caught her gaze and knew that this was a teasing opportunity that he could not miss.

"Huh? No way!" May retorted.

"Then why were you staring at me?" Drew inquired with a smirk on his face.

"Oh, that. I was just shocked at how puny your muscles are, cabbage-brain." May answered, with the hint of a smirk tracing her lips. Drew's smirk fell as he frowned.

'Damn, she's getting better at those comebacks.' Drew thought.

"Now, get out so I can get changed!" May cried as she pushed Drew out the bathroom, slightly flustered, and shut the door. Drew's cheeks were tinted with a faint blush as he thought about everything that just happened.

"Same old May." Drew said as he flicked his hair and put on his black shirt as he walked out the door, chuckling. Once May heard the door close, she gave a sigh of relief and slid down the door until she hit the floor.

"That Drew." May said to herself while giggling before she went to get changed for the pool.

* * *

Brock and Max where chilling by the pool while they waited for the others to come. Brock was wearing green board shorts and an orange shirt with brown flip flops, and Max was wearing brown board shorts and a green shirt with black flip flops. They were talking about their past journeys.

"So, what's one of the best moments from your journeys, Brock?" Max asked.

"Hmm, that's a tough one. There have been so many." Brock replied. "Oh, I know. You know how Ash will do almost anything to get a gym badge?" Brock questioned.

"Yeah…" Max trailed off, not knowing where this conversation was heading. He took a sip of his drink while Brock continued.

"Well, back when Ash was getting badges to enter the Indigo League, Ash, Misty and I went to Celadon City, so that Ash could get the Rainbow badge. When we got there, he insulted the perfume that the gym manufactured, so they banned him from the gym and wouldn't let him battle. Do you know what he did?" Brock asked. Max shook his head. Brock chuckled before finishing.

"He dressed as a girl and called himself 'Ashley' to get into the gym and he almost got away with it too if it wasn't for Pikachu recognising him." Brock finished, laughing. Max spit out his drink and stared at Brock in disbelief.

"No way!" Max replied.

"Yep. He wore an orange frilly dress and a blonde wig with a pink bow in it as well as red heels." Brock laughed.

"That's priceless!" Max cried, full on laughing.

"What's priceless?" Ash asked as he sat next to Brock. Ash was wearing dark grey board shorts and a blue shirt with red flip flops. Drew and Kenny sat down next to Ash. Kenny was wearing beige board shorts and a green shirt with dark green flip flops.

"Nothing, _Ashley_," Max teased, smirking at Ash.

"Brock, you told him!" Ash cried, horrified.

"Told him what?" Kenny asked.

"Nothing!" Ash responded, quickly, flailing his arms about.

"A story for another time, boys." Brock replied, chuckling.

"Hey, where are the girls?" Drew asked. Max's gaze was caught by something coming from behind Drew. He smirked and tapped Brock, pointing at what he spotted.

"Look behind you." Brock commented, grinning. The boys shared confused looks before turning around to see what they were looking at. Instantly, their eyes grew wide and their jaws dropped.

"No…" Ash started.

"…freaking…" Drew continued.

"…way." Kenny finished. Misty, May and Dawn were all walking towards them, dressed in their swimwear. Misty was wearing her turquoise tankini with the little horsea on the left side of the top and navy blue flip flops, May was wearing a scarlet red bikini with the black outline of a rose in the right corner of the bottoms and crimson flip flops, and Dawn was wearing a rose pink halter neck bikini with a small black ribbon on the centre of the top and fuchsia flip flops.

"Hi boys!" May greeted, cheerfully. Brock and Max said hello to them, but Ash, Drew and Kenny didn't. The girls saw the boys staring at them and their smirked inwardly. They each placed a hand under their roommate's chin and closed their mouths.

"You'll catch flies like that you know." Dawn said to them as the girls walked off giggling. They took off their flip flops and were stretching by the pool. The boys all grinned at each other and crept up behind them before pushing them in.

"AAAGHH!" the girls screamed as they plunged into the cold water. Ash, Drew and Kenny were laughing their heads off at their little prank. While they were busy laughing, they didn't notice the girls reach their hands out of the water and grab onto the boys ankles as they pulled them in.

"Waaah!" the boys cried as they fell into the pool. The boys emerged from the surface and the girls started giggling at their appearance. They all had soaking wet hair that was hanging in front of the face. Drew was the least pleased with this.

"May!" Drew shouted.

"What's the matter? I think your new style suits you, mop head," May teased. Drew tried to flick his hair out of the way, but it just stuck to his forehead.

"Right, that's it!" Drew yelled as he started to swim after May.

"Aaah!" May screamed as she swam away. Brock and Max chuckled at their friends' antics before joining them in the pool.

* * *

After they finished up in the pool and had dinner, the boys all gathered in Brock and Max's room.

"Alright, fess up. When are you going to confess?" Brock asked Ash, Drew and Kenny.

"What are you talking about, Brock?" Ash asked, confused.

"Oh don't dumb play with me, Ash. You know as well as I do that you like Misty." Brock replied.

"N-no I don't!" Ash protested.

"Really, then why were you so upset when Misty left to go back to Cerulean City and take over as gym leader, and why were you so excited when we met up with Misty again in the Hoenn region?" Brock inquired.

"Uh…" Ash trailed off as he started to blush.

"I thought so. And you, Kenny. You practically confessed your feelings to Dawn back in Sunyshore City, so there's no point in you trying to deny it." Brock pointed out. Kenny felt his cheeks heat up and he suddenly found the floor very interesting.

"Besides, they're not the only ones, are they, Drew?" Max questioned.

"I have no idea what you're on about," Drew replied, coolly.

"Oh please, 'Roses for your Beautifly'? Yeah right." Max responded.

"What? They were!" Drew argued.

"Right and I suppose all the times when you worried about May or gave her advice or just made her smile were nothing?" Max asked, knowing the answer.

"Hmph." Drew replied as he flicked his hair, trying to rid his face of the blush staining his cheeks.

"So, once again, I ask, when are you going to confess? After all, I did organise this journey for you." Brock added. The boys all looked at each other and sighed, knowing they were found out.

"When the moment is right." They replied in unison.

* * *

While the boys were all in Brock and Max's room, the girls were talking in May and Drew's room.

"Wasn't it great when we pulled the boys into the pool?" Misty asked, giggling.

"I think Drew's reaction was the best! '_May!_'" May replied as she imitated Drew. "What do you think, Dawn?" May asked. When she didn't reply, Misty and May saw that Dawn was engrossed in the magazine she was reading 'Poké Teen'.

"What are you reading, Dawn?" Misty asked.

"There's a really interesting article in here about how to tell if a guy likes you." Dawn told her.

"Oh yeah? Anyone in mind? Kenny perhaps?" May teased.

"What? No!" Dawn argued.

"Dawn, you told me all about it when Kenny asked you go on a journey with him. You said you weren't ready yet, but you couldn't stop blushing. Plus, you called him handsome. Do I need any more proof?" May asked.

"Fine, but I'm not as obvious as _some people_. You are so crushing on Drew," Dawn stated.

"Why would I like Grasshead?" May questioned.

"Well, then you think of an answer as to why he's practically all you talk about, even if isn't all good, and whenever he gives you a rose, you blush like crazy!" Dawn replied.

"Okay, maybe I do like him a bit…" May trailed off blushing. "…but Misty likes Ash!" May blurted out.

"May!" Misty cried, blushing terribly.

"Oh you do, huh?' Dawn asked as she wiggled her eyebrows, suggestively.

"Alright, maybe I do. I mean, at first I didn't, but I just couldn't help it. I've never met anyone like Ash before. He's so sweet and caring and he's kind to all his pokemon and everyone he meets…" Misty babbled on and on about everything she liked about Ash.

"Who are you and what happened to Misty?" Dawn asked.

"…but if either of you breathe a word of this to anyone, you will DIE!" Misty threatened.

"Aaaaand, she's back." May replied, laughing nervously. "Don't worry, Misty. Your secret is safe with us as long you keep ours." May told her. Dawn nodded her head.

"Agreed." Misty responded.

"Well, should we have a read of the article then?" Dawn asked. May and Misty agreed and they proceeded to read the page.

_**How to tell if a guy likes you**_

1\. Guys feel like they need to prove themselves, so he may talk about himself a lot

2\. Teasing can be used as a form of flirting

3\. He will treat you differently to others

4\. If a guy likes you, he may become protective over you

5\. He will be jealous of other guys you talk about or may show an interest in

6\. Look out for any strange behaviour

7\. Watch for him taking a previously unexpressed interest in the things that you like

8\. Take note of touching and being touched

9\. He may try to talk to you more often

10\. He remembers little details about you

11\. You receive random gifts from him for no reason at all

12\. He lets you have your way

13\. He compliments you from time to time

14\. Look for increased eye contact

15\. He's willing to open up to you

If your guy shows at least 5 of these signs, then he definitely likes you, so buy the next issue of 'Poké Teen' to see what this all means.

"I don't know, this could be just one of those things that they print in magazines to try and sell it to people." May said after finishing the article.

"How about this? We'll each keep an eye on someone else's guy and see if they show any of these signs. We'll each keep track of them over the course of our journey and then at the end of it, we'll buy the next issue and decide if we think what the article says is true or not. Deal?" Dawn asked. May and Misty looked at each other and nodded.

"Deal." May and Misty replied in unison.

"Okay, so I'll keep an eye on Drew for May." Dawn decided.

"Then, I'll watch Ash for Misty." May responded.

"So, I guess that leaves me with Kenny for Dawn." Misty added.

"Well, I think we should head to bed, May. We'll see you in the morning." Dawn said as she yawned.

"Yeah, goodnight May." Misty responded as she and Dawn waved to May and walked out the room.

"Goodnight guys!" May called out to them as Drew walked through the door.

"What were you girls talking about?" Drew asked.

"Oh, you know. Girl stuff." May replied. "What were you guys talking about?" May questioned.

"Oh, you know. Guy stuff," Drew imitated. May rolled her eyes and got into bed.

"Whatever. Anyway, I'm tired, so I'm going to sleep." May responded. "Goodnight Drew…" May trailed off as she fell asleep. Drew chuckled at her cute childish actions. He sweetly kissed her on the cheek before getting into bed as well.

"Night May." Drew replied as he switched off the light. A small smile could be seen on May's face.

* * *

_**Hope you enjoyed it! This was very long for a first chapter – I think this is the longest chapter that I have ever written for a story. A Level work may make it difficult for me to write the next chapter because of timing issues, but I will try to update as soon as possible. Please R&amp;R!**_

_**xBandanaRosesx**_


	3. Chapter 2 - Déjà vu

_**Hi guys! Here's the next chapter of 'Symptoms of Love'. This is where the story really starts.**_

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon**_

* * *

**Chapter 2 – Déjà vu**

* * *

The next morning, Ash woke up feeling pumped. Today marked the start of a brand new day and a brand new journey with all of his friends. He looked to the left of him and saw Misty's sleeping figure curled up in her bed.

'She looks so cute like that.' Ash thought. He blushed and was about to deny it to himself, but after that talk with Brock last night, he saw no point in it. He silently crept over to her and looked at her sweet, peaceful face. "This is the only time she'll ever be this calm and quiet." Ash whispered to himself, chuckling. He watched as a strand of Misty's hair fell onto her face and he suddenly had the urge to move it out of the way. It was a risky move, but the temptation was too great. He inched his hand closer to her face and just as he was about push it back behind her ear, she grabbed his hand and pulled him close to her face. She sharply opened her eyes and stared at him as he gulped in fear.

"What do you think you're doing?" Misty whispered, harshly.

"Uh…uh….uhhhh…" Ash struggled to find the words to explain what he was doing without sounding like a creepy stalker. Misty was growing impatient, so she tightened her grip, making Ash yelp in pain.

"Ash, if you do not tell me right now, then I will get out my mallet and hit you with it." Misty threatened.

"I can deal with your mallet beatings any day, Misty. I used to get hit all the time, remember?" Ash retorted. Misty started to laugh evilly, causing Ash's face to twist into that of confusion and fear.

"You think I don't already know that? Trust me, you do not want to see my mallet. You see, I may bring out the normal one for Drew and Kenny, but I bought a new one for just such an occasion. It's made out of gold plated metal and is very, VERY, heavy. It has your name engraved in it and everything. Do you want to see it?" Misty asked, a mischievous smirk on her face.

"Uh, no, no, no, that's fine!" Ash responded, laughing nervously.

"Then tell me what you were doing, Ketchum," Misty demanded. Ash sighed, knowing he was beat.

"Well, I woke up and I was really psyched and then I looked over at you and saw you sleeping and I thought you were cute because you were so calm and peaceful and then a strand of your hair fell into your face, so I went to push it back without you knowing, but then you grabbed a hold of my hand and here we are now. Please don't kill me!" Ash replied, quickly, closing his eyes and covering his face with his hand. Misty stopped listening after she heard him call her cute and now she couldn't stop blushing. She let go of his wrist and turned around abruptly, so he couldn't see her red face. Ash opened his eyes and lowered his hand to see what was going on.

"It's fine, just don't do it again or I will get my mallet out!" Misty warned Ash as she got her stuff and went to the bathroom to take a shower.

"That was weird…" Ash trailed off as he saw Pikachu sleeping on his pillow. He chuckled as he wondered how Pikachu had managed to sleep through that whole exchange. Ash got changed into his day clothes and woke up Pikachu.

"Wake up, buddy. Time to get up," Ash whispered as he poked Pikachu. Pikachu was having the best dream about becoming the world's greatest pikachu without needing to evolve. Ash continued to poke Pikachu and Pikachu soon grew tired of it.

"Pika-chu!" Pikachu cried as it zapped Ash with thunderbolt.

"Aaaah!" Ash cried out as he fell to the ground in pain. "Well, I definitely remember this. Being shocked by Pikachu and being threatened by Misty. It's just like my first day as a pokemon trainer." Ash said.

"Chu," Pikachu replied, annoyed at being woken up from a great dream.

"Sorry about that, Pikachu. Want to come and get some fresh air with me?" Ash asked.

"Pi!" 'Yes!' Pikachu replied, happily. It hopped onto Ash's shoulder and smiled at him.

"Alright then, let's go!" Ash cheered as he walked out the door. 'I'm glad no-one was here to witness that conversation between me and Misty.' Ash thought as he closed the door behind him.

However, little did he know that May was listening in from next door and she heard every word that was said.

"That's number 13 'He compliments you from time to time' crossed off for Misty." May said, giggling. Drew walked out of the bathroom and saw May giggling on her bed.

"What's so funny?" Drew asked.

"Oh, nothing…" May replied, mysteriously. Drew looked at her weirdly as she continued giggling to herself.

"Girls..." Drew muttered under his breath as he shook his head.

* * *

Dawn stood out on the deck as she breathed in the fresh sea air and looked across the horizon. A smile graced her lips as she closed her eyes and a feeling of nostalgia hit her. Someone walked up from behind her while she was deep in thought.

"What are you thinking about, Dee Dee?" Kenny asked as he brought Dawn out of her reverie.

"Not even you can ruin this moment, Kenny." Dawn replied as she referred to his use of 'Dee Dee' instead of Dawn. Kenny chuckled before he continued.

"Seriously, what are you thinking about?" Kenny inquired.

"Well, going on a journey in Sinnoh again just reminds me of my first journey as a pokemon coordinator. All my adventures with Ash and Brock, all the contest rivals and friends I made along the way, all my contests with Nando, Zoey, you…" Dawn trailed off as she held onto the railings in front of her and breathed deeply. Kenny watched her and seeing her look so peaceful warmed his heart. He placed his right hand on top of her left hand as he placed his other hand on the railings. Dawn and Kenny smiled to themselves while they both had faint blushes on their faces.

'Number 8 'Take note of touching and being touched' check for Dawn.' Misty thought to herself as she watched from the shadows. She coughed and made her presence known causing Dawn and Kenny to break apart, blushing furiously.

"I'm not interrupting anything, am I?" Misty asked, slyly.

"Nope, nothing going on here." Dawn responded, quickly. Kenny frowned slightly, but nodded his head in agreement anyway.

"Whatever you say. Anyway, I just came to tell you that breakfast is being served and Ash is very irritable because he has too much energy, so please come and eat now." Misty told them. Dawn and Kenny agreed and followed Misty to the breakfast room.

* * *

Misty, Dawn and Kenny arrived in the breakfast room to witness a blossoming argument.

"Gym battle!" Ash shouted.

"Contest!" May yelled.

"Gym battle!"

"Contest!"

"Gym battle!"

"Contest!"

"STOP!" Misty roared. Everyone in the room fell silent and looked at her, even the other guests on the ferry.

"Sorry about these two. Please, go back to what you were doing." Misty apologised as the guests continued with their own business. "As for you…" Misty started as she pointed at Ash and May. "…what on earth is going on here?" Misty asked.

"Well, I'm really psyched to compete for badges and enter the Sinnoh League again, so I want to have a gym battle first." Ash explained.

"Yes, but he's already competed in the Sinnoh League before. I haven't competed in an actual Sinnoh region contest before, so I want to do that first." May told her.

"You know, there's an easy way to settle this." Dawn cut in. Ash and May both turned to look at her.

"How?" They asked in unison.

"My coin toss application." Dawn answered. "Okay, heads or tails?" Dawn questioned.

"I call heads." Ash said.

"Then, I'll go tails." May decided.

"Alright, coin toss!" Dawn exclaimed. She pressed the button and the coin flipped and landed on the magikarp head. "It's heads!" Dawn declared.

"Yes!" Ash cheered. May pouted and crossed her arms as she sat down.

"Maybe it's a good thing that Ash's gym battle is first. It means you can have more time to work on your appeal and battle rounds. I don't think you're ready to get back out there just yet." Drew whispered to her.

"I'm fine, Drew. Will you please stop bringing that up!" May whispered back, harshly. She inhaled deeply and pushed her chair back as she got up out of her seat. "I'm going for a walk." May announced as she walked out of the room. Dawn was worried about her and was getting out of her seat to go after her, when Drew put a hand on her shoulder. She turned to look at him and he shook his head at her. Dawn sighed as she slowly sat back down. She kept staring at the door May had just left through, all the while thinking about her.

* * *

May walked out onto the deck and leaned against the railings. She sighed as she looked down at the ocean. She watched the water pokemon swim past. Her lips curved into a small smile as she spotted all the wooper, buizel, finneon and lots of other pokemon playing with each other.

'They seem so care free. I can't help but be jealous of them. I wonder what it would be like to be a pokemon.' May pondered. She thought back to what Drew said and sighed once again. 'Maybe Drew's right. Maybe I'm not ready to get back out there yet.' May thought to herself. She looked ahead and saw the Sinnoh region come into view. The prospect of a new journey and a fresh start ignited the burning spirit within her.

"No. If I keep looking back, then I'll never move forward. I've got to focus on the here and now, and that means getting back into the game," May said, determined. With her confidence back up, she went back inside to tell the others they would shortly be arriving.

* * *

"Alright, well we're at Lake Valor now, so we can head to Pastoria City, Veilstone City or Sunyshore City." Brock told them as they got off the ferry.

"Let's head to Pastoria City. I haven't paid Crasher Wake a visit in a while." Ash decided. Everyone agreed and they set off on route 213 to Pastoria City. Meanwhile, three figures were spying on them from behind a bush.

"So, the twerp has come back to the Sinnoh region." One person said.

"Yeah and this time he's brought the other twerps from his travels with him." The second person replied.

Right. There's the red-headed twerpette, the tall twerp, the Hoenn twerps and twerpette and the Sinnoh twerp and twerpette." The third figure added.

"Don't forget, the twerp still has his pikachu…" The first person started.

"…which means pikachu is ours for the plucking," The second person commented as the three of them laughed evilly.

"Let's get to work." The third figure announced as the other two agreed.

* * *

"Now, if I remember, Crasher Wake has a gyarados, quagsire and floatzel." Ash said.

"So, he's a water type gym leader?" Misty asked.

"Yeah." Ash replied.

"Well, when we get to the pokemon center, how about a practice battle against me?" Misty suggested.

"That's a great idea! It would be good practice for me. Thanks, Misty." Ash responded, gratefully.

"No problem." Misty replied. May and Dawn looked at each other and smiled knowingly at the two of them. As they walked along, the ground suddenly gave way beneath them.

"Aaargh!" They all screamed as they fell.

"Ugh, who put a hole here?" Ash asked.

"I bet I know." Max replied. Evil cackling could be heard from above.

"Who's there!?" Ash called out.

*Cue Team Rocket music*

"Prepare for trouble; we're back with a bang!" (Jessie)

"And make it double; we're just like a boomerang!" (James)

"To make your lives as miserable as we can!" (Jessie)

"To do it all while we're getting a tan!" (James)

"To be successful and get a promotion maybe!" (Jessie)

"To steal your pokemon like candy from a baby!" (James)

"Jessie!" (Jessie)

"James!" (James)

"Team Rocket, blast off at the speed of light!" (Jessie)

"Surrender now or prepare to fight!" (James)

"Meowth! That's right!" (Meowth)

"Wobuffet!" (Wobuffet)

"Team Rocket!" Ash shouted.

"You guys are so lame." Misty replied.

"Lame!? For you information, red head, Team Rocket is a very successful organisation!" Jessie yelled.

"Oh yeah, so how many of our pokemon have you successfully stolen?" Misty questioned, smirking.

"Grrr, you be quiet before I come down there and make you!" Jessie roared as James and Meowth held her back.

"Calm down, Jessie. Let's just get Pikachu and get out of here." James told her.

"You're right. Meowth, you know what to do." Jessie said.

"Right." Meowth replied as he pushed a button on the controls. They jumped out of their balloon as a robot pikachu came into view and they landed in the control room. Meowth pressed a button on the control panel and a robotic arm shot out and grabbed Pikachu.

"Pikachu!" Ash yelled.

"Pika Pi!" Pikachu cried.

"Pikachu, use thunderbolt!" Ash commanded.

"Pika-chu!" Pikachu shouted as it used thunderbolt. The electricity travelled up the arm and shocked the robot. However, it did nothing.

"What!?" Ash shouted, confused. Meowth laughed at him before explaining.

"You see, twerp. This here robot is electric proof, thanks to our rubber casing." Meowth told him.

"Which means its Pikachu proof too." James added.

"I love it when we win!" Jessie cheered.

"You haven't won yet!" May yelled. 'Now would be a good time to try out that new combination I've been working on.' May thought. "Don't worry, I'll handle this." May decided.

"How? Are you gonna scare them away with your loud stomach?" Drew teased. Max sniggered from behind him and gave Drew a hi-five. May turned around and punched Drew in the shoulder, hard. "Ow! What the hell, May!?" Drew shouted.

"Not now, Drew!" May roared. "Venusaur, come on out!" May called. Venusaur appeared out of its pokeball in a flash of white light and landed above the hole. "I need you to use vine whip to get us out of here, please." May told it.

"Venusaur!" Venusaur cried as it used vine whip to pull May out. As Venusaur began to pull the others out, May got ready to fight Team Rocket.

"Glaceon, Blaziken, take the stage!" May called out. Her two pokemon emerged from their pokeballs at her side.

"Well, if you're going to use your pokemon, then we'll use ours too. Seviper, let's go!" Jessie commanded as Seviper came out of its pokeball.

"You too, Carnivine!" James ordered. Carnivine escaped its pokeball, but instead of going to fight, it went back towards James and bit his head as it wrapped itself around him."

"Bite them, not me!" James complained.

"Seviper, use bite!" Jessie commanded. Seviper opened its mouth wide and aimed straight for Blaziken.

"You too, Carnivine!" James ordered. Carnivine opened its jaws and flew towards Glaceon.

"Glaceon, use ice beam!" May instructed.

"Glace!" Glaceon cried as it shot out a beam of ice straight towards Carnivine and Seviper, surrounding them in a ball of ice.

"Blaziken, use sky uppercut!" May called out.

"Blaze!" Blaziken shouted as it struck the ball of ice and sent it flying upwards.

"Now, use overheat!" May added.

"Blaziken!" Blaziken shouted as it boosted the ice ball and sent it hurtling towards the robot, breaking the glass and crashing into Jessie, James and Meowth.

"Glaceon, finish it with iron tail!" May called out.

"Glace-eon!" Glaceon cried out as it struck the robot, forcefully, causing it to malfunction and explode. The explosion made the ice ball shatter and as Team Rocket blasted off, blue fireworks scattered across the sky.

"Team Rocket's blasting off again!" They cried as they flew into the sky. Pikachu started falling towards the ground, fast.

"I've got you, buddy!" Ash shouted as he ran towards Pikachu and caught it in his arms. Glaceon landed on the ground and May, Glaceon and Blaziken all took a bow, together.

"Wow, May! That was amazing!" Dawn praised.

"Aww, thanks Dawn." May thanked her.

"What was that combination of yours?" Dawn asked.

"Oh, that's something I've been working on for a while. I call it 'Ice Rocket'. It still needs a little bit of work, though." May admitted.

"No need to worry! I'm sure you'll have it perfected in no time." Dawn reassured her. May nodded her head and smiled at her. Suddenly, a red rose was being tossed in her direction and May caught it with ease.

"Good job, May." Drew complimented as he flicked his hair and smiled at her.

"Oh, t-thanks Drew." May stuttered as she smelled the rose and stared at it in awe, blushing.

'Number 11 'You receive random gifts from him for no reason at all', done.' Dawn crossed off in her head, smiling inwardly.

"Well, now that that's over with, shall we get going?" Brock asked. Everyone agreed and they carried on along route 213 to Pastoria City.

* * *

"At last! Pastoria City!" Ash cheered. As they overlooked the city, a lot of large colourful houses and buildings could be seen with a stream running by them. As they walked into the city, all the townspeople could be seen walking around with Croagunks by their side.

"Wow! Look at all the Croagunk!" Max exclaimed.

"Right. Pastoria City is famous for their Croagunk. They even have their own Croagunk festival here." Dawn responded.

"Yep and Brocko here entered the Croagunk Festival competition with his Croagunk when we first travelled through Sinnoh together." Ash told him

"You did? Awesome! That's so cool, Brock!" Max replied, in awe.

"Thanks. Although, I didn't actually win. Croagunk and I were in the final along with a boy named Hamilton and his croagunk, Craig. Hamilton wanted Craig to marry Nurse Joy's croagunk, Chrissy, but Chrissy wasn't interested. He kept pushing it and I got annoyed, so I decided to enter to put him in his place. While we were battling in the finals, Team Rocket came and interrupted our battle in a massive Croagunk robot and tried to steal all the Croagunk. However, Chrissy came to the rescue and saved all the croagunk, so she was crowned the winner of the Croagunk Festival." Brock explained.

"That's a great story, Brock." Misty told him.

"Well, shall we get going to the pokemon center?" May asked.

"Aaaah! Nurse Joy! Don't worry my love, I'm coming!" Brock shouted, with hearts in his eyes, as he raced off towards the pokemon center. Max and Misty looked at each other and nodded, before rushing off after him. The rest of them just sweat dropped and followed behind.

* * *

When the others finally caught up, they saw Brock talking to Nurse Joy, while Max and Misty were watching him with unamused expressions.

"My heart beats only for you… Ow! Not the ear!" Brock cried as Max pulled away.

"The only beating you should be doing is beating it out of here." Max told him as he dragged him away. Misty watched with an amused expression, proud of her 'student'.

"Hi there, Nurse Joy," Ash greeted.

"Why, hello there, Ash. It's so nice to see you, Dawn and Brock again. How are you all?" Nurse Joy asked.

"We're fine thank you, and this time I have more friends with me." Ash replied.

"Hello, I'm Misty." Misty greeted.

"Hi, I'm May and this is my little brother Max." May responded, cheerfully.

"Hi there." Max replied.

"My name's Drew." Drew addressed.

"I'm Kenny." Kenny answered.

"It's nice to meet you all. So, are you here to challenge Wake to a battle?" Nurse Joy questioned.

"I sure am!" Ash responded, pumped.

"Well, I'm afraid to say that Wake is taking care of town business today, so you'll have to battle him tomorrow." Nurse Joy told him, regretfully.

"Aw man, and I really wanted to battle." Ash replied, dejectedly.

"Don't worry, Ash. You can still have that practice battle with me." Misty reminded him.

"Hey, you're right. Alright, let's go!" Ash exclaimed as he grabbed Misty's hand and dragged her to the battle field. Nurse Joy laughed at the two of them before returning to the group.

"Well, I must be getting back to my duties. Let's go, Chrissy." Nurse Joy said as her Croagunk, Chrissy, appeared at her side.

"Wow, this must be the Croagunk that Brock told me about. Hi there, Chrissy. I'm Max." Max greeted.

"Croa." 'Hello.' Chrissy replied.

"Right, well we better head out to the battlefield." Brock told them as they all headed outside.

* * *

When the others came outside, they saw Ash on the floor and Misty holding a gold metal mallet in her hand.

"Don't do that again, Ketchum!" Misty shouted.

"I'll remember next time. Sorry, Misty." Ash replied, still in a daze. Pikachu laughed at him before the two of them headed to their sides of the battlefield.

So, Ash. Have you decided which pokemon you're going to use yet?" Misty asked.

"Uh, not yet." Ash replied, truthfully.

"Well, why don't you bring them out?' Misty suggested.

"Right. Come on out, guys!" Ash called as all his pokemon appeared from their pokeballs. Standing in front of Ash was Pikachu, Quilava, Sceptile, Gliscor, Boldore and Frogadier.

"Cool! Look at all the pokemon!" Max exclaimed, his eyes sparkling.

"Yeah. Since I was starting a new journey with my friends from the different regions that I've visited, I decided to bring one pokemon from each region. Pikachu from Kanto, Quilava from Johto, Sceptile from Hoenn, Gliscor from Sinnoh, Boldore from Unova and Frogadier from Kalos." Ash explained.

"Which pokemon are you going to use?" May asked.

"Well, let's see. Gyarados is a water and flying type which means it's weak against Rock and Electric types, so I think I'll use Boldore." Ash decided.

"Boldore!" Boldore cheered.

"Now, Quagsire is a water and ground type which means it's weak against grass types, so I'll use Sceptile for that battle." Ash chose.

"Sceptile!" Sceptile agreed.

"Finally, Floatzel is a water type which means it's weak against grass and electric types, so then it'll be Pikachu's turn." Ash concluded.

"Pika!" Pikachu cried, determined.

"Alright, so those are my three pokemon. Boldore, Sceptile and Pikachu." Ash established.

"Gliscor." Gliscor cut in, dejectedly.

"Don't worry, Gliscor. I'll use you for the next battle, okay?" Ash reassured.

"Gliscor!" Gliscor cried, happily, as it landed on top of Ash in a hug. Misty giggled at the sight.

"Okay, now that that's sorted, let's get to the battle." Misty said.

"Everyone, return." Ash said as he returned all his pokemon, except Pikachu.

"I'll be the referee." Brock decided as he took his place on the side of the battlefield. "Alright, this will be a three on three battle and the battle will be over when all of one side's pokemon is unable to battle. Begin!" Brock announced.

"Corsola, let's go!" Misty called out. A pink coral pokemon appeared out of its pokeball and got ready to battle.

"Boldore, I choose you!" Ash instructed. The blue rock pokemon emerged on the battle field and got into its battle stance.

"Corsola, use tackle!" Misty commanded. Corsola shot out from where it was and aimed straight for Boldore.

'It's fast.' Ash thought. "Boldore, dodge and use rock blast." Ash ordered.

"Bol! Bol-dore!" Boldore roared as it jumped out of the way and turned around as it launched a rock blast. A few large rocks flew towards Corsola.

"Quick, Corsola, use spike cannon!" Misty commanded.

"Cor!" Corsola cried as it shot out a flurry of white spikes towards the stone edge. As the spike cannon made contact with the rock blast, the rocks broke up and pieces of rock went flying, hitting both Corsola and Boldore.

"Boldore, use sandstorm!" Ash ordered.

"Bol!" Boldore roared as it generated a huge sandstorm and sent it straight for Corsola.

"Corsola, dodge and use bubble beam!" Misty commanded.

"Corsola!" Corsola cried as it side-stepped out of the way and aimed bubble beam towards Boldore.

"Boldore!" Boldore roared as it was repeatedly attacked by the super effective water type move.

"Oh no, Boldore!" Ash cried, worriedly. "Are you alright?" Ash asked.

"Bol." Boldore replied as it shook off the attack to show Ash it was ok.

"Alright, Boldore, use flash cannon!" Ash ordered.

"Bol!" Boldore roared as it focused its energy to create a white ball which transformed into a fast, white beam which struck Corsola.

"Cor!" Corsola cried as it flew backwards.

"Oh no, Corsola!" Misty called. "Can you go on?" She asked.

"C-Cor," Corsola stuttered as it managed to get up.

"Quick, Corsola, use recover!" Misty commanded. Corsola's body started to glow a rainbow colour as it began to heal its injuries.

"No you don't! Boldore, finish it with rock smash!" Ash ordered.

"Bol-dore!" Boldore roared as the gems on the top of its body glowed orange. As it jumped up, it's right leg glowed red and came crashing down on Corsola.

"Cor!" Corsola cried out, in pain, as it was pummelled into the ground.

"Corsola, no!" Misty yelled. When the dust cleared, Corsola was on the ground with swirls in its eyes.

"Corsola is unable to battle. Boldore wins!" Brock declared.

"You battled hard, Corsola. Thank you." Misty said, gratefully, as she returned Corsola to its pokeball.

"Great work, Boldore." Ash told it as he returned Boldore to its pokeball.

"Your boldore is quite strong, Ash." Misty complimented.

"You bet." Ash replied.

"Okay, Politoed, let's go!" Misty called out. A green frog appeared from its pokeball and had a determined look on its face.

"Sceptile, I choose you!" Ash instructed. The green reptile pokemon emerged from its pokeball and crossed its arms, looking confident.

"Politoed, use water gun!" Misty commanded.

"Poli!" Politoed shouted as it spouted out a stream of water towards Sceptile.

"Sceptile, use leaf blade to block it!" Ash ordered.

"Scep." Sceptile replied as the leaves on its wrists glowed light green and formed into a blade which it used to slice the water gun.

"Now, use solar beam!" Ash ordered.

"Quick, Politoed, use bubble beam while it's charging!" Misty commanded. However, as Misty looked up, both Ash and Sceptile were smirking.

'Huh? What's he up to?' Misty thought. Before Politoed was able to launch the attack, a solar beam was already heading straight for it. 'But how?' Misty pondered.

"Use leaf storm, Sceptile!" Ash ordered.

"Sceptile!" Sceptile yelled as it created a tornado of leaves and aimed for the solar beam. The leaves wrapped around the solar beam, forming a doubly effective combination attack. This caught the attention of May, Drew, Dawn and Kenny.

"Wow, look at that!" Dawn whispered.

"It's powerful and beautiful, too." May said, in awe.

"For a trainer, he's not half bad at combinations." Drew half complimented.

"Well, from travelling with two coordinators, I'm sure Ash has picked up a few techniques from contests as well as his gym battles." Kenny pointed out.

"Politoed, dodge it, quick!" Misty commanded, but before Politoed had the chance, the leaf storm/solar beam combination struck its stomach and sent it flying back into the wall. Politoed slid down the wall as it collapsed on the ground, with swirls in its eyes.

"Politoed is unable to battle. Sceptile wins!" Brock declared.

"Thank you, Politoed. You did your best." Misty thanked her pokemon as she returned Politoed to its pokeball. "Your sceptile is really something else." Misty complimented.

"Well, of course. What did you expect? Do you still want to keep battling, Sceptile?" Ash asked.

"Scep." Sceptile replied as it nodded its head.

"Alright, then I'm going to stick with Sceptile." Ash told Misty.

"Okay, Psyduck, come on out!" Misty called out. The yellow duck appeared from its pokeball and held its head in its hands while it bore a blank, clueless expression.

"Really? You're going to go with Psyduck?" Ash asked.

"Don't underestimate my pokemon, Ash." Misty warned.

"Alright, if you say so." Ash replied, still unsure.

"Sceptile, use quick attack!" Ash ordered.

"Scep!" Sceptile yelled as it speeded towards Psyduck.

"Don't attack until I say, okay Psyduck?" Misty whispered to it. Psyduck nodded its head in understanding. Sceptile hit Psyduck with quick attack, but it made no attempt to counter.

"Well, if you're not going to attack, then use leaf blade, Sceptile!" Ash ordered.

"Sceptile!" Sceptile yelled as the leaves on its wrists formed blades and it struck Psyduck on the head. Once again, Psyduck did nothing.

"Why is Psyduck not attacking or defending?" May asked.

"I'm not sure, but Misty must have some plan up her sleeve." Max told her.

"Leaf storm, Sceptile!" Ash ordered

"Scep!" Sceptile yelled as it shot a tornado of leaves straight at Psyduck. It hit Psyduck and was super effective, but it still made no move. Sceptile, on the other hand, was panting heavily.

'Sceptile's running out of steam. Gotta finish this quick.' Ash thought. "Finish it with solar beam!" Ash ordered.

"Scep-tile!" Sceptile yelled as it aimed a white beam towards Psyduck. It hit Psyduck hard, but Psyduck looked different this time. It was clutching its head in pain.

'Oh no, I forgot!' Ash thought.

'Bingo!' Misty thought to herself.

"Psy!" Psyduck growled as its eyes glowed blue and Sceptile became outlined in the same colour.

"Scep?" 'Huh?' Sceptile became confused as it found itself unable to move and was then suddenly floating in the air.

"Uh oh, that was disable and psychic. You know what comes next…" Ash remembered.

"That's right. Psyduck, use confusion!" Misty commanded.

"Psy-duck!" Psyduck bellowed as it sent Sceptile flying back into the wall, hard.

"Sceptile!" Ash cried. Sceptile was crashed out on the floor with swirls in its eyes.

"Sceptile is unable to battle. Psyduck is the winner!" Brock declared.

"No way!" Drew, Kenny and Max shouted in unison.

"Who knew one Psyduck had so much power." May said.

"You're awesome, Psyduck!" Dawn exclaimed.

"Thanks for a great battle, Sceptile." Ash thanked Sceptile as he returned it to its pokeball.

"Great, Psyduck!" Misty called.

"Psy!" Psyduck cried as it turned around and shot Misty the peace sign.

"Do you think you can keep going for this last battle?" Misty asked.

"Psy." Psyduck reassured.

"Alright, we're ready to go Ash." Misty called out across the battlefield.

"Okay, then Pikachu, I choose you!" Ash instructed.

"Pika!" Pikachu shouted as it scampered across to its position on the battle field.

"Alright, it's Pikachu's turn!" Dawn exclaimed.

"Go Pikachu!" May cheered.

"May!" Misty shouted.

"Sorry. Go Psyduck too!" May cheered.

"Pikachu, use thunderbolt!" Ash ordered.

"Pika-chu!" Pikachu cried as it released a bolt of electricity and hit Psyduck. Psyduck started to hold its head in pain once again.

"Wow, Pikachu's thunderbolt is something else to give Psyduck a headache in one hit." Kenny said.

"Yeah, such power from such a little Pikachu. It really goes to show that power has nothing to do with evolution." Drew replied.

Pikachu, quick, use quick attack!" Ash ordered.

"Pika, Pika, Pika- Pi?" Pikachu cried as it charged towards Psyduck, but was stopped by Psyduck as it shot out blue rings towards Pikachu and used disable.

"Pi-ka!" Pikachu cried as it tried to move, but it was no use.

"Good, Psyduck. Now, use scratch and then psychic!" Misty commanded.

"Psy!" Psyduck yelled as it scratched Pikachu's face multiple times and then hit Pikachu with an invisible blast of power, as its eyes glowed blue, and sent Pikachu flying.

"Pika!" Pikachu cried as it flew back and hit the ground.

"Pikachu! Get up!" Ash pleaded.

"Pi…" Pikachu said as it slowly got up and stood strong.

"Great, now finish it up with electro ball and then iron tail!" Ash ordered.

"Pi-ka!" Pikachu cried as it formed a large electric ball on its tail and sent it flying before its tail glowed white and struck the electro ball, giving it more power and increasing its speed.

"Awesome…" Kenny whispered, in awe.

"Psyduck-" Misty started, but before she had the chance to command, Psyduck was hit by the combination move and sent flying as it skidded across the ground and landed at Misty's feet with swirls in its eyes.

"Psyduck is unable to battle. Pikachu wins! Which means the victory goes to Ash!" Brock declared.

"Alright!" Ash cheered.

"Pika!" Pikachu cried, ecstatic, before jumping into Ash's arms. Misty walked up to Psyduck and picked him up.

"Psy." Psyduck said, disappointed.

"Don't be sad, Psyduck. You tried your best. We'll get them next time!" Misty replied, determined as she hugged Psyduck before returning it to its pokeball. She walked up to Ash and held out her hand.

"Good battle, Ash." Misty congratulated.

"Thanks, Misty. Psyduck's definitely got a lot stronger." Ash replied as he shook Misty's hand.

"Well, it may not know any water type moves, but it definitely makes up for it with its psychic powers." Misty said.

"I'll say. Your psyduck is awesome, Misty!" Max complimented.

"Thank you, Max." Misty replied, gratefully.

"Same goes for Pikachu." May said as she petted Pikachu's head.

"Cha." Pikachu cooed.

"Well, what do you say we go eat?" Brock suggested.

"Oh boy, I'm starved! I was so into battling that I forgot about eating!" Ash cried as everyone laughed before they all headed inside the pokemon center.

* * *

_**Hope you enjoyed it! The next chapter will be of Ash's gym battle with Crasher Wake and then the story will move onto the contest battle. Please R&amp;R!**_

_**xBandanaRosesx**_


	4. Chapter 3 - Sleepless Nights

_**Hi guys! This chapter will be about Ash's gym battle with Wake and then it will lead onto the pokemon contest in the next chapter. Enjoy!**_

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon**_

* * *

**Chapter 3 – Sleepless Nights**

* * *

After Ash and Misty's battle, the gang went to have dinner and retired to their rooms. The boys were all in one room and the girls were all in the other. At first, the boys found it difficult to sleep because the girls were giggling and laughing from next door, but when they finally went to bed, the boys did too. All except for Ash that is.

'Wake's floatzel is one tough pokemon. Gotta remember that. But then again, his quagsire can deal with grass types, so we've gotta stay sharp. Although, his gyarados is really strong too.' Ash thought as he kept thinking about everything from his previous gym battle with Wake.

"Aaaagh! What do I do!?" Ash screamed, frustrated. All the boys woke up, upon hearing Ash scream.

"Ash, what's wrong?" Brock asked, half asleep.

"Oh, I just couldn't sleep. Sorry for waking you all up. I'm going to take a walk, you all go back to sleep." Ash told them.

"Okay then." Brock said as he and the other boys went back to sleep. Ash got changed out of his pyjamas and into his day clothes. He was just about to leave the room when…

"Pika Pi?" 'Where are you going?' Pikachu asked.

"I'm just going for a walk to clear my head. Wanna tag along?" Ash asked.

"Pi." 'Yes.' Pikachu said as it nodded its head and jumped off the bed. It scampered over to Ash and jumped up as it perched itself on Ash's shoulder. Ash silently closed the door behind him as he walked down the corridor and out of the pokemon center doors. Ash and Pikachu sat down in the middle of the battlefield and looked up at the sky.

"Tomorrow's our first gym battle of our new journey, Pikachu." Ash said. "We may have gotten stronger over the years, but I'm sure Wake has too which means we can't afford to let our guard down. Let's win our battle tomorrow, Pikachu!" Ash cried, determined.

"Pika!" 'Yeah!' Pikachu replied, fist clenched. Ash and Pikachu remained silent and saw a star fly past.

"Look, Pikachu! A shooting star! Let's make a wish." Ash said.

"Pi." 'Okay.' Pikachu responded.

"I wish for this journey to be full of fun and happiness. I hope that we all grow together and become one step closer to fulfilling our dreams." Ash wished. Pikachu nodded in agreement with Ash's wish.

"Come on, buddy. Time to go back to bed. We've got a gym battle in the morning." Ash reminded Pikachu as they headed back to bed.

* * *

The next morning, Ash woke up feeling full of energy and raring to go. He hurried everyone up and ate at the speed of light before rushing off to the gym.

"Ash, what's your problem? The gym isn't going anywhere you know." Misty told him.

"I know that, Misty, but haven't you ever been so pumped that you just have to get there as fast as you can."

"I know I have!" May cut in.

"Where was that? The noodle shop?" Drew teased.

*whack*

"Ow! Come on!" Drew complained.

"Number 2 and implied number 4," Misty replied, in a sing song voice.

"Sorry, May." Drew grumbled.

"That's okay." May accepted as she gave Misty a hi-five. Ash walked up to the gym doors and knocked three times.

"Hello? Is anybody there? I'm here for a gym battle." Ash called.

"Enter challenger!" Someone bellowed as the doors opened to reveal a huge man with no shirt, blue trousers and orange boots, and blue lines across his face.

"Whoa, he's huge!" Max whispered to Brock.

"That's exactly what we thought the first time Ash, Dawn and I met him." Brock replied.

"Ash! How nice to see you." Wake greeted.

"Hi there, Wake! It's good to be back in Pastoria City again." Ash responded.

"So, are you here for a gym battle?" Wake asked.

"Yep. I've decided to enter the Sinnoh League again, but I've brought more of my friends with me this time." Ash told him as he introduced each of his friends to Wake.

"Well, then. Shall we get started?" Wake asked.

"You bet!" Ash replied, pumped. Ash followed Wake to the battle field while the others went to go sit in the stands. However, Dawn headed to the bathroom.

"Dawn, where are you going?" May asked.

"Nowhere. I'm just going to the bathroom. I'll be right back!" Dawn answered as she rushed off to the bathroom. May watched her go and had a curious look on face as she went to sit in the stands.

* * *

As Ash, Wake and the referee took their places on the battlefield, Dawn went to the stands to find the others. Kenny saw Dawn come in and as soon as he saw her his eyes bulged and his jaw literally fell to the floor. Dawn was wearing a dark pink sleeveless top with a white and blue V-shape pattern on the top. She also wore a dark pink and white skirt that went down to mid-thigh, white socks that ended just below the knee and light pink and white trainers. She was also holding two light pink pom-poms and Piplup and Buneary were wearing similar clothing.

"Kenny. Kenny!" Drew shouted. Kenny remained in a daze, so Drew clicked in his face and when that didn't work, he slapped him, hard.

"Ouch!" Kenny yelled as he glared at Drew.

"What? It's not my fault you were drooling all over Dawn." Drew teased. Kenny's eyes widened and he looked away, blushing, making Drew chuckle.

"Dawn, why are you wearing that?" Misty asked.

"Oh, this?" Dawn asked, pointing to her cheerleader outfit. "I always wear this to Ash's gym battles because my pokemon and I like to cheer for him to give him that extra bit of encouragement. Why don't you do it with me?" Dawn suggested.

"You know what, I never thought of doing that. It sounds like fun! Give me a minute." May replied as she ran to the bathroom.

"No way, you'd get me into one of those." Misty stated. Suddenly, May burst in dressed in her cheerleader outfit. She was wearing an emerald green sleeveless crop top with a white V-shape across the top. It showed off her midriff and the emerald green and white skirt she was wearing ended just above mid-thigh, giving her the appearance of longer legs. She also wore light green trainers with white knee-high socks and held two light green pom-poms. Her wartortle was wearing an emerald green sleeveless top with matching emerald green shorts and holding two light green pom-poms and Beautifly was wearing a small emerald green dress and holding a light green pom-pom with its proboscis.

'She looks so hot!' Drew thought as his eyes wandered the entire length of May's body.

"Drew. Drew!" Kenny yelled. He clicked in front of his face, just like Drew did with him, and when it didn't work, Kenny smirked before slapping him around the face.

"Hey!" Drew shouted as he glared at Kenny.

"What? It's not my fault you were drooling all over May." Kenny imitated. Drew growled and looked away, slightly blushing. Drew's masquerain could sense something and appeared out its pokeball. It saw Beautifly and rushed over to her. Masquerain and Beautifly chirped happily together.

"Aww, how cute! Pokemon in love!" Dawn cooed.

"You know what they say. Pokemon take after their trainers." Max said, suggestively, causing both May and Drew to blush furiously.

"Max, you are so gonna get it later!" May screamed, making Max chuckle.

"Alright, May. Let's do this!" Dawn exclaimed.

"Ash, you can do it! Go, go, go! Battle hard and give 'em, a show, show, show!" May and Dawn cheered in unison, along with their pokemon.

"Thanks, you two." Ash thanked them. "After that, we can't let them down. Right, Pikachu," Ash said, determined.

"Pika." 'Right.' Pikachu replied.

"The battle between Ash the challenger and Crasher Wake the gym leader will now get underway. This will be a three on three battle and only the challenger is allowed to make substitutions. The match will be over when all of one side's pokemon is unable to battle. Begin!" The referee announced.

"Gyarados, come on out!" Wake ordered. The blue sea dragon pokemon emerged from its pokeball and landed in the water.

"Gya!" Gyarados roared its name.

"Boldore, I choose you!" Ash commanded. The blue rock pokemon appeared from its pokeball and landed on the white platform in front of Ash.

"Bol!" Boldore shouted as it prepared for battle.

"Gyarados, use bite!" Wake ordered.

"Gya!" Gyarados roared as it moved speedily in the water and charged towards Boldore.

"Boldore, use rock blast!" Ash commanded.

"Bol!" Boldore shouted as it launched large rocks at Gyarados. Gyarados was able to dodge them, but got in the way of the last rock which got caught in Gyarados' mouth, catching it off-guard.

"What!?" Wake shouted.

"Alright, Boldore, use flash cannon!" Ash ordered.

"Bol-dore!" Boldore shouted as it released a white beam of energy and struck Gyarados.

"Gya!" Gyarados roared as it fell backwards.

"Gyarados, no!" Wake yelled, worried.

"Finish it with rock smash!" Ash commanded.

"Boldore!" Boldore shouted as the gems on the top of its body glowed orange. As it jumped in the air, the gems on its right leg glowed red as it aimed for Gyarados and came crashing down. However, just as Boldore was about to strike Gyarados, Gyarados purposely moved out of the way and Boldore fell in the water.

"Oh no!" Ash yelled.

"Quick, pick up Boldore using bite!" Wake ordered.

"Gya!" Gyarados roared as it picked up Boldore with its mouth and bit down hard.

"Now, use dragon rage!" Wake ordered.

"Gyaaa!" Gyarados roared as it formed a fire ball in its mouth and shot Boldore out its mouth with it.

"Bol!" Boldore cried as it flew upwards and smashed into the ceiling before it fell back down and crashed into one of the white platforms, with swirls in its eyes.

"Boldore is unable to battle. Gyarados wins!" The referee declared.

"Thanks, Boldore. You battled really well." Ash said as he returned Boldore to its pokeball. 'That Gyarados is definitely a lot stronger than before.' Ash thought.

"Aww, and Ash and Boldore were doing so well." Dawn said, sadly.

"He got too overconfident. It was never going to be that easy." Kenny pointed out.

"Oh yeah, well what do you know?" Dawn retorted. "Go Ash, go Ash, fight, fight, fight! Do it now and do it right!" Dawn chanted. Kenny frowned at Dawn before turning his attention back towards the battlefield. He then proceeded to scowl at Ash. Misty noticed this and smiled to herself as she looked at Dawn.

'Number 5 'He will be jealous of other guys you talk about or may show an interest in' done.' Misty checked off.

"Pikachu, are you ready to go?" Ash asked.

"Pika!" 'Ready!' Pikachu replied.

"Alright, then let's go!" Ash commanded as Pikachu leapt onto the white platform.

"Gyarados, use dragon rage!" Wake ordered.

"Pikachu, use quick attack to dodge!" Ash commanded.

"Pi, Pi, Pi!" Pikachu cried as it jumped from platform to platform using quick attack.

"Now, jump onto Gyarados and use thunderbolt!" Ash commanded.

"Pika-chu!" Pikachu cried as it shocked Gyarados with thunderbolt. It didn't seem to do any damage, but then Gyarados started to feel the effects of paralysis.

"What's going on?" May asked.

"That's Pikachu's special ability, static. When Pikachu is hit by a physical attack or uses a physical attack, it can cause the opponent to become paralysed.

"That's quite a handy ability to have." Drew commented.

"Gyarados, shake Pikachu off!" Wake ordered.

"Gya!" Gyarados roared as it moved about to get Pikachu off of it.

"Pikachu, jump high in the air!" Ash commanded.

"Pika!" Pikachu cried as it jumped straight up, off of Gyarados' back.

"Now, somersault all the way back down and use an iron tail/electro ball combination!" Ash commanded.

"Pi-ka, Chu-pi!" Pikachu cried as it somersaulted continuously while its tail glowed white from iron tail. Pikachu then use electro ball and the iron tail broke up the electro ball, causing its tail to become electrified from the scattered bits of electro ball. It then smashed into Gyarados' head with its tail causing it to collapse into the water with swirls in its eyes.

"Gyarados is unable to battle. Pikachu wins!" The referee declared.

"Great work, Gyarados." Wake thanked his pokemon as he returned Gyarados to its pokeball.

"Alright, that was awesome!" Max cheered.

"That was a nice use of a combination move, too. The power of the iron tail and electro ball, combined with the momentum of the somersault made for a super effective move." Brock replied.

"I may be one pokemon down, but you better not get overconfident, Ash." Wake warned.

"Of course not." Ash replied.

"Alright then. Quagsire, come on out!" Wake ordered. The blue amphibious pokemon appeared from its pokeball and landed on the white platform in front of Wake.

"Pikachu, come back for now." Ash called. Pikachu jumped off the white platform and ran back to Ash's side. "Sceptile, I choose you!" Ash commanded. The green reptilian pokemon emerged from its pokeball and stood tall on the white platform in front of Ash.

"Quagsire, use sludge bomb!" Wake ordered.

"Quag!" Quagsire bellowed as it shot out balls of mud towards Sceptile.

"Sceptile, hit them back using pound!"

"Scep!" Sceptile cried as it sent the mud balls flying back using pound. Quagsire was pelleted with its own sludge bomb attack, but it stood strong.

"Quagsire, use ice beam!" Wake ordered.

"Quag-sire!" Quagsire bellowed as it shot out a beam of ice towards Sceptile.

"Sceptile, dodge it using quick attack!" Ash ordered.

"Scep!" Sceptile cried as it jumped from platform to platform using quick attack.

"Wow, look at Sceptile's speed!" Dawn exclaimed, in awe.

"Right. I remember watching Ash train night after night to get Sceptile's speed up. Those two have been through so much together." Max told her.

"Really? How come?" Dawn asked.

"Well, back when Sceptile was still a Grovyle, it fell in love with a Meganium owned by Nurse Joy. However, a tropius was also in love with same Meganium, so Grovyle and Tropius fought it out to win Meganium's heart. Grovyle beat Tropius and even evolved into Sceptile to rescue Meganium when it was captured by Team Rocket. Although, after all that, Meganium chose Tropius over Sceptile. For a long time, Sceptile was too heartbroken to use any of its moves. Ash didn't understand and kept pushing him, until eventually Ash was forced to see things through Sceptile's point of view. They got lost together back on Metallica Island and they bonded. Sceptile realised how much Ash really cared it and when Team Rocket captured Ash it regained the use of its moves in an attempt to rescue him." Max explained.

"Ash is like no-one I've met before. He'd go above and beyond for his pokemon. He really is amazing." Dawn replied. Kenny's frown deepened and Misty giggled silently, seeing this.

'If only he knew.' Misty thought.

"Quagsire, calm down and focus your ice beam before launching!" Wake ordered. Quagsire closed its eyes and tried to work out Sceptile's movements. After pinpointing it, Quagsire suddenly opened its eyes and launched an ice beam at Sceptile. It hit Sceptile and froze some of its tail.

"Come on, Sceptile. I know you're strong enough to shake it off!" Ash encouraged. Sceptile struggled to break free of the ice as it moved about.

'How I am going to get Sceptile out of that ice.' Ash thought.

"Quagsire, use sludge bomb, once more!" Wake ordered. Quagsire launched mud balls at Sceptile.

'That's it!' Ash worked out.

"Sceptile, quick, turn around and let your back face the sludge bomb!" Ash commanded. Sceptile complied with Ash's orders and turned around. The sludge bomb hit Sceptile's tail and broke the ice.

"Alright!" Ash exclaimed.

"What a great strategy. Using his opponents attacks to his advantage." Brock commented.

"Sceptile, use leaf storm!" Ash commanded.

"Scep!" Sceptile cried, launching a tornado of leaves at Quagsire. Quagsire was hit by the leaf storm and caught up in the tornado.

"Sceptile, finish it with solar beam!" Ash commanded.

"Scep-tile!" Sceptile cried as it gathered energy in its tail until it glowed white and released a white beam of light from its mouth.

"Sire!" Quagsire shouted as it got hit in the stomach and smashed into the wall.

"Quagsire, no!" Wake cried. Quagsire collapsed onto the ground with swirls in its eyes.

"Quagsire is unable to battle. Sceptile wins!" the referee declared.

"Thanks, Quagsire. You were great." Wake told it as he returned Quagsire to its pokeball.

"Awesome, Sceptile! You take a good rest. Return." Ash called.

"Well, Ash. It seems that I'm down to my last pokemon, but don't think this battle will be a walk in the park." Wake told Ash.

"Don't worry about that. I'm ready for anything you've got!" Ash cried.

"That's the spirit! Floatzel, come on out!" Wake ordered. The orange weasel pokemon appeared from its pokeball and stood proudly on the white platform in front of Wake.

"Pikachu, you ready to go buddy?" Ash asked.

"Pika!" 'You bet!' Pikachu replied.

"Alright, then Pikachu I choose you!" Ash commanded. Pikachu scampered back over to the white platform, ready for battle.

"Floatzel, use razor wind!" Wake ordered.

"Floa!" Floatzel yelled, as its two fins glowed white and it swung them, firing multiple crescent shaped discs at Pikachu.

"Pikachu, hit them back with iron tail!" Ash commanded.

"Pi-ka!" Pikachu cried as its tail glowed white and it knocked the razor winds back at Floatzel.

"I'm not falling for that one again. Floatzel, dodge and use ice fang!" Wake ordered.

"Floa!" Floatzel shouted as it jumped up to dodge the razor winds and aimed for Pikachu.

"Pikachu, use iron tail again!" Ash commanded.

'Pika!" Pikachu cried as it used iron tail and flew towards Floatzel.

"Floatzel, catch Pikachu's iron tail in your mouth!" Wake ordered. Floatzel aimed for Pikachu's tail and caught it in its mouth, freezing it with ice fang.

"Aaah!" Ash cried as Pikachu fell back down onto the platform and struggled to move.

"Pikachu, use thunderbolt!" Ash commanded. Pikachu tried to use its attack, but was unable to because of its tail. Ash became frustrated and then remembered when this happened once before.

'That's right. The same thing happened when I battled Burgh back in Castelia City, in Unova. His Leavanny used string shot on Pikachu and stopped its tail from moving which made Pikachu lose balance. I've got to find a way to break that ice.' Ash thought.

"Floatzel, use whirlpool! Wake ordered.

"Floa!" Floatzel shouted as it raised its arms and generated a large whirlpool of water above its head before throwing it at Pikachu.

"Pikaaaa!" Pikachu cried as it was hit by the whirlpool and was heading straight for the wall behind it.

'I've got it!' Ash thought.

"Pikachu, point your tail towards the wall!" Ash commanded. Pikachu pointed its tail behind it and as it was knocked into the wall, the impact of the whirlpool broke the ice on Pikachu's tail.

"What!?" Wake yelled, confused.

"Pikachu, use electro ball!" Ash commanded.

"Pika Chu-Pi!" Pikachu cried as it formed a large ball of electricity on its tail and shot it at Floatzel.

"Floatzel, counter with whirlpool!" Wake ordered.

"Floa!" Floatzel shouted as it generated another whirlpool and threw it at the electro ball. The impact of the attacks created an explosion and caused smoke to fill the battlefield. When the smoke cleared, Floatzel was gone.

"Pi?" Pikachu whispered as it became confused.

"Don't panic, Pikachu. Try to keep calm and find Floatzel." Ash told it. Pikachu heeded Ash's words and tried to listen out for Floatzel.

"Floatzel, use razor wind!" Wake ordered.

"Floa!" Floatzel shouted as multiple razor winds shot out from beneath and knocked Pikachu backwards.

"Pikachu, use quick attack to get away from Floatzel!" Ash commanded.

"Pi!" Pikachu cried as it jumped from platform and platform, making it difficult for Floatzel to aim properly.

"Floatzel, jump back out of the water and use bulk up!" Wake ordered.

"Sounds to me like he wants to finish this up in the next move." Brock said

"What's bulk up?" May asked.

"It's a move that raises a pokemon's attack and defence." Brock explained.

"Everyone knows that, May." Drew stated matter-of-factly.

"Oh, who asked you, Drew!?" May retorted as she shook her pom-pom in Drew's face. He grabbed it from her and threw it back at her with an unamused expression on his face causing May to giggle.

"Floa!" Floatzel shouted as it flexed its arms and its body became surrounded by a magenta aura.

"Floatzel, use whirlpool!" Wake ordered.

"Floa!" Floatzel shouted as it launched a whirlpool of water at Pikachu.

"Pikachu, use electro ball!" Ash commanded.

"Pi-ka!" Pikachu cried as it release a large ball of electricity towards Floatzel. Once again, the impact caused an explosion and spread smoke around the battlefield. When the smoke cleared, Floatzel was gone, but so was Pikachu.

"Huh?' Wake said, confused.

"You didn't think you could trick me again, did you?" Ash asked. Wake looked at Ash and realised where Pikachu was.

"Floatzel, get out of there quick!" Wake yelled, worried. Floatzel looked around in the water, confused, but then saw Pikachu smirking at it. It became worried and tried to swim away.

"Quick, Pikachu, use thunderbolt!" Ash commanded.

"Pi-ka-chuuuu!" Pikachu cried as it released a powerful bolt of electricity into the water and electrified the entire water battlefield, shocking Floatzel in the process.

"Floa!" Floatzel screamed in pain. After the attack, Pikachu jumped out of the water and onto the white platform and Floatzel floated back up to the surface, swirls in its eyes.

"Floatzel is unable to battle. Pikachu wins! Which means the victor is Ash from Pallet Town!" The referee declared.

"Yeah! We did it, Pikachu!" Ash exclaimed as Pikachu jumped into his arms.

"Alright, he did it!" May and Dawn cheered.

"Way to go, Ash!" Misty shouted.

"Thanks, Misty!" Ash shouted back as he gave Misty a thumbs up.

"Thank you, Floatzel. You did me proud." Wake said as he returned Floatzel to its pokeball before walking over to Ash.

"Ash, that Pikachu of yours is quite strong. You've raised it and all your other pokemon well." Wake complimented.

"Thank you, Wake." Ash replied.

"As proof of your win at the Pastoria Gym, I give you, the Fen Badge." Wake said as he presented Ash with his badge. Ash took the badge and looked at it with a smile on his face.

"Alright. I got, the Fen Badge!" Ash exclaimed as he posed with the badge.

"Pi Pikachu!" Pikachu cheered along with Ash.

* * *

After Ash's battle, the gang went to the pokemon center to get Ash's pokemon healed.

"Your pokemon are feeling much better now." Nurse Joy informed Ash. Brock went crazy as he clasped both of Nurse Joy's hands and proclaimed his love for her.

"And I'm feeling better now that I've seen you! Our hearts are connected as one- Ow! Not the ear!" Brock cried as Misty tugged on his ear and pull him backwards.

"Not now!" Misty shouted.

"Thank you, Nurse Joy." Ash thanked her.

"My pleasure." Nurse Joy replied as she walked off to tend to the other pokemon.

"So, where should we head to next?" Max asked. Before anyone could answer, the TV screen in the pokemon center displayed a lady with curly orange hair and blue eyes.

"Hello, all coordinators! It's the start of the contest season once again. I'm your MC of Sinnoh contests, Marian, and I'm here to tell you that our first contest will be held in Hearthome City. It will be a double performance and will start two weeks from now, so you better get going if you want to make it." Marian informed before she was off the screen.

"Hearthome City!" May exclaimed. "Ash has had his gym battle, so now it's our turn for the contest." May said.

"That's fine by me. Plus, I can challenge Fantina while I'm there." Ash replied.

"If she's there of course." Dawn added, giggling.

"What do you mean?" Misty asked.

"Well, the last time we went to Hearthome City, Fantina was gone for a while because she wanted to go on her own journey to grow as a gym leader. She does that whenever she feels like she needs to, so we never know if she's going to be there or not." Ash admitted. Misty nodded in understanding.

"Hearthome City is nearby to Pastoria City, so if we leave tomorrow, then that gives you guys plenty of time to train for the contest." Brock told them.

"I'm going to enter!" Dawn cried.

"Me too!" May exclaimed.

"What about you boys?" Dawn asked. Kenny and Drew looked at each other and nodded in agreement.

"I think we'll sit this one out. We'll enter the next one." Kenny replied.

"May, are you sure about this?" Drew asked, concerned. May didn't want to talk about this right now, so she pretended not to hear him.

"Dawn, when we get to Hearthome City, we should go shopping for new outfits for the contest." May told her.

"Ooh! I've actually had a look at some dress styles that I like. Come on, I'll show you!" Dawn responded, excited, as she grabbed May's hand and dragged her to their room.

'I know she heard me.' Drew thought as he frowned slightly. The others went off to their room and prepared to set off the next day.

* * *

The next morning, the gang set off on the road towards Hearthome City. Ash, Misty and Brock were talking animatedly about the memories of their journeys together when Ash first became a trainer whilst Kenny and Dawn were explaining to Max how Sinnoh contests differ from Hoenn contests. May and Drew were lagging behind, walking at the back of the group. Drew was keeping an eye on May, but May was deep in thought.

'The contest starts in two weeks. That's not too long away. I need to start training and get back into the game, otherwise I'll never achieve my dream of Top Coordinator.' May thought, seriously. Drew saw the others were busy talking to each other, as they figured out which way to go, so he took his chance to talk to May. He grabbed May's arm and pulled her aside.

"May, are you sure about the contest?" Drew asked, concerned. May was starting to getting a bit irritated by Drew's constant questioning of her abilities.

"Hey Misty! Do you want to come shopping with me and Dawn when we get to Hearthome City?" May asked, ignoring Drew. Misty didn't want to go shopping again, but she didn't want to turn her down and be rude. She hesitated to think of an answer before Ash beat her to it.

"Actually, Misty and I already have plans." Ash cut in.

"Oh, you do?" May questioned.

"Right. I wanted to talk to Misty about water pokemon and why she likes them so much. We haven't spent that much time together, you know." Ash admitted as he swung his arm around Misty's shoulders, making her blush a little.

"That's ok, we understand. Right, May?" Dawn asked.

"Right." May confirmed. 'That's number 7, number 8 and number 9. 'Watch for him taking a previously unexpressed interest in the things that you like', 'Take note of touching and being touched' and 'He may try to talk to you more often'. A triple deal. Nice going, Ash.' May thought.

"Alright, the pokénav says to take a left here, so let's go." Brock told them. They all agreed and continued walking.

"You can't avoid me forever, May." Drew muttered as he caught up with the group.

* * *

When they all got to Hearthome City, Max and Brock went to go and buy supplies, Drew and Kenny went off to train, Ash and Misty walked off together and May and Dawn were costume shopping. May and Dawn went to 'Coordinator à la mode' to shop for outfits. Dawn had already picked out her contest dress. It was a rose pink strapless dress that went down to her knees. The bottom half flared out at the hips and the bodice of the dress had an intricate black pattern across the top. She also bought black kitten heels. Now, it was May's turn.

"What about this one?" May asked, trying on a blue Arabian style outfit with long blue trousers, a blue off the shoulder half shirt, blue slippers and a blue bejewelled headband on her head.

"No, May. Arabian style is what you wore when you entered the Wallace Cup in the Sinnoh region before, remember?" Dawn reminded.

"But, I liked that outfit." May replied.

"I liked it too. Back when you were 13!" Dawn pointed out. May sighed and looked around the shop for another outfit. She spotted something that she knew would annoy Dawn, so she quickly took it off the rack and tried it on for a joke.

"How about now?" May asked, trying not giggle. Dawn turned to look at her before her eyes grew wide in shock.

"May! What, is that!?" Dawn cried, horrified.

"What? I kinda like it." May admitted. She was wearing a dark green penguin tailed suit with a white button up shirt and vest, a bright green tie, forest green leather shoes and an emerald green top hat.

"No offense, May, but it looks like Drew threw up all over you." Dawn replied, in disgust. May couldn't hold it in and burst out laughing.

"I know, I just put it on to see how you'd react. You didn't think I was serious did you?" May asked.

"For a second, I was extremely worried about you. Besides, if you cover yourself up with a suit, how is Drew meant to see your feminine features?" Dawn teased. May felt the heat rising to her cheeks.

"I'm not doing this for him!" May protested as she grabbed a random outfit and stepped into the changing room, once again.

"Right." Dawn responded, unconvinced.

"What do you think?" May asked as she walked out of the changing room, for the third time. Dawn looked up and her eyes sparkled with delight.

"It's perfect!" Dawn exclaimed. "Go look in the mirror, May!" Dawn told her as she dragged May to the mirror. May looked at her reflection and gasped in shock. She was wearing a royal blue sleeveless dress that went down to her mid-thigh and had a silver belt tied around the waist. She was also wearing a pair of sapphire pumps with 3 inch heels.

"Is that me?" May asked, in doubt.

"Yes, May. You look absolutely beautiful and with some accessories and a bit of polishing, you'll look even more stunning." Dawn told her. "Drew might even faint when he sees you in that." Dawn added. May giggled before turning around to look at Dawn.

"Thanks, Dawn. You're the best!" May cried as she hugged Dawn and they jumped up and down together.

* * *

Meanwhile, Ash and Misty were hanging out by a lake as they watched their pokemon play around together.

"So, Misty. What is it about water pokemon that makes them your favourite?" Ash asked.

"Well, I've always loved the water since I was a little girl. Living in the gym as a kid, I used to watch my sisters perform their shows, as the sensational sisters, all the time and I envied them." Misty confessed. Ash looked at her with a confused expression. "Not because they were pretty and dressed up all girly, but because they got to swim in the water all the time. Whenever I'm in the water, it relaxes me and I feel free. Until the day I started my pokemon journey, I used to dream about swimming and being one with my pokemon. That was when I decided to become the world's best water pokemon trainer because it meant I could combine my two favourite things – water and pokemon." Misty explained.

"That was really _deep_, Misty." Ash joked, nudging her with his elbow.

"Haha, very funny." Misty replied, sarcastically. "What about you, Ash?" Misty asked.

"What about me what?" Ash questioned.

"What's your favourite pokemon?" Misty inquired.

"Oh, well, to be honest, I don't have one." Ash admitted.

"You don't?" Misty replied, curious.

"No. You see, I see all pokemon as equals and I love them all the same. I don't think pokemon should be judged based on their looks or how strong they are. If you really care for them, then it shouldn't matter what pokemon they are, as long as you believe in them." Ash told her.

"You're right, Ash." Misty agreed. The two of them sat quietly, revelling in the comfortable silence that had fallen upon them.

* * *

That night, Misty and Dawn were in their room, talking about their day.

"I'm telling you, Misty. May looked absolutely gorgeous! She's has so much to show, yet she hides it away. Kinda like you, Misty." Dawn told her.

"Aww, your sweet, Dawn, but dresses and girly things just aren't my thing." Misty replied. Dawn nodded in understanding.

"So, how was your date with Ash?" Dawn asked, suggestively. Misty blushed fiercely at her comment.

"It was not a date!" Misty shouted. "It was just two old friends hanging out together, that's all." Misty stated.

"Whatever you say," Dawn responded, flippantly. Misty was about to protest when they heard a knock at the door. Dawn went to get the door and opened it to see Drew standing there.

"Hi Drew. What's up?" Dawn questioned.

"Is May there?" Drew asked.

"Uh, no. I think she's outside practicing for the contest." Dawn told him.

"Okay, thanks," Drew thanked her as he walked off to find May.

'Number 9 'He may try to talk to you more often', check.' Dawn thought.

* * *

Outside the pokemon center, May was practicing her appeal for the Hearthome contest.

"Blaziken, use overheat!" May ordered.

"Blaze!" Blaziken roared as it shot the ball of ice into the air.

"Glaceon, use iron tail!" May ordered.

"Gla!" Glaceon cried as it jumped up and smashed the ball of ice, creating blue fireworks.

"Awesome! Just a few more tweaks and our appeal will be perfect." May told them. They both smiled at May and nodded at her. "You should get some rest. Return." May said as she returned her pokemon to their pokeballs.

"May." Someone called.

'Great. Just what I need.' May thought, recognising the voice. "What do you want, Drew?" May asked, slightly annoyed.

"I want to talk to you." Drew replied, leaning on the door frame.

"No, really?" May responded, sarcastically, before turning to look at him. Drew shook his head as he rolled his eyes and walked up to her.

"Look, I think it's great that you want to compete in contests again, but I don't think you should if you're not ready. What happened with Harley was just a minor setback and I know you can bounce back, May. You know I only worry about you because I care." Drew admitted. May saw the honesty in Drew's eyes and sighed.

"I know that, Drew, but you don't have to worry about me." May told him.

"Well, if you're sure." Drew replied, slightly doubtful.

"I'll be fine!" May responded, happily, smiling brightly. Drew had a skeptical look on his face, but knew May was stubborn and wasn't going to back out, so he nodded and went back inside. When Drew disappeared out of sight, May slumped down onto the bench beside her.

"At least, I hope so…" May whispered.

* * *

_**Hope you enjoyed it! So, what is May hiding and what has Harley got to do with it? The next chapter will begin from the start of the contest. Please R&amp;R!**_

_**xBandanaRosesx**_


	5. Chapter 4 - The Secret

_**Hi guys! So, what is May hiding? All will be revealed… Enjoy!**_

_**Disclaimer: I do not own pokemon or any of the characters**_

* * *

**Chapter 4 – The Secret**

* * *

The next day, May and Dawn got up extra early and rushed over to the contest hall, too excited to do anything else.

"My first Sinnoh contest!" May cried, happily, hands clasped and eyes gleaming.

"You'll love them, May! Even if you don't win the ribbon, I just love working with my pokemon and making people smile." Dawn told her. "And dressing up, of course." Dawn added, making May giggle.

"Come on, let's go and get changed." Dawn said as she and May went to put on their costumes.

* * *

While May and Dawn were getting changed, the others ran to the contest hall to give the two of them one last boost of encouragement.

"I can't believe they didn't wake us up!" Drew complained.

"They were so pumped, that they didn't think twice about it." Ash cut in.

"Where are they?" Kenny asked.

"Here we are." Dawn called as she and May walked out together. Everyone turned around and Drew and Kenny both thought the same thing.

"Whoa," They whispered. May and Dawn heard them and smirked at them.

"Oh, you like?" Dawn asked as she and May posed, showing off their new outfits. Both girls were wearing their respective dresses and shoes that they bought before the contest. May had her hair down and curled and was wearing a nude lipstick and peach coloured blush. Dawn had her hair up in a high ponytail and was wearing a pink lipgloss and pink coloured blush.

"You two look amazing." Kenny said to them both, but May and Misty knew that he was focused mainly on Dawn.

'Number 13 'He compliments you from time to time' done.' Misty thought.

"Well, we just came to wish you both luck and to make sure that you both do your best." Brock told them.

"Thanks, Brock. Here, Kenny, can you take Buneary for me. She'll want to cheer with Pikachu. Oh, we better go, May!" Dawn cried as she gave Buneary's pokeball to Kenny and dragged May towards where all the contestants were while the others headed to their seats. May looked back and saw Drew smiling at her as a sign of reassurance. She smiled back and nodded at him before he went to go and take his seat.

* * *

As May and Dawn entered the waiting room, backstage, they heard the sound of a harp playing. Dawn recognized that harp playing and looked around the room until her eyes landed on the figure of tall man wearing a dark green hat and cloak, who was playing a golden harp.

"Nando!" Dawn called as she ran over to him and May followed. Nando stopped playing and looked up to see Dawn coming towards him.

"Hi Nando!" Dawn greeted.

"Why hello, Dawn. Who, may I ask, is this?" Nando asked, pointing to May.

"Oh, this is my friend, May. May, this is Nando." Dawn introduced.

"Hello," May greeted.

"A pleasure." Nando replied.

"What are you doing here, Nando?" Dawn asked.

"Well, I have travelled around the Hoenn and Johto regions and competed in the contests there, so I decided to come back to Sinnoh and compete here, once again." Nando told them. "What about you, Dawn?" Nando inquired.

"I'm on a new journey with all of my friends and we decided to travel around the Sinnoh region together." Dawn replied. Just then, Marian came onto the screen and began talking.

"Hello everyone and welcome to the Hearthome contest! I'm your MC, Marian, so let me explain how the contest will work. The first round will be a double performance, followed by the second round which will be a double battle. The winner of the contest will win this beautiful ribbon which will take one coordinator, one step closer to the Grand Festival." Marian explained as she held up the Hearthome ribbon. "Here are our judges. Chief of the pokemon activities committee, Mr Contesta!" Marian announced.

"A pleasure to be here." Mr Contesta replied.

"President of the pokemon fan club, Mr Sukizo!" Marian announced.

"Also, remarkable!" Mr Sukizo responded, loudly.

"And finally, our very own, Nurse Joy!" Marian announced.

"It's wonderful to be able to see all the lovely, healthy pokemon." Nurse Joy commented.

"Okay, now that introductions are over, let's get started with the performances. First contestant, you're up!" Marian called as the curtain was raised to reveal May.

"Alright, May's up first!" Ash cheered.

"Pika Pika!" 'Go May!' Pikachu encouraged, dressed in a green long-sleeved top and trousers and holding two white fans.

"Bu-nea-ry!" 'Do your best!" Buneary cheered, wearing its cheerleader outfit and holding two pink pom-poms.

'You can do it, May.' Drew thought.

"Glaceon, Blaziken, take the stage!" May commanded. Glaceon and Blaziken emerged from their pokeballs with a fire seal on them. Glaceon appeared from a large blast of blue fire and Blaziken appeared from a large blast of red fire.

"Oh my, what an entrance!" Marian said, in awe.

"Glaceon, stand on your tail and spin while using ice beam!" May commanded.

"Gla!" Glaceon cried as it spun around while shooting a blue beam out of its mouth. It gradually lifted its head and surrounded itself by the ice.

"Wow, Glaceon has encased itself in an ice ball. That's different to last time." Misty commented.

"That must have been what May was working on during her late night training sessions." Max replied.

"Blaziken, use sky uppercut!" May commanded.

"Blaze!" Blaziken roared as it struck the ice ball and knocked it upwards.

"Now, use overheat!" May commanded.

"Blaz-iken!" Blaziken roared as it released a powerful stream of fire and hit the bottom of the ice, increasing the speed of the ice as it flew upwards.

"Glaceon, use mirror coat!" May commanded.

"Gla-ce!" Glaceon cried as its body glowed, making the ice sparkle.

"Gorgeous…" Dawn commented, backstage.

"Glaceon, use secret power and then use iron tail!" May commanded.

"Gla-ceon!" Glaceon cried as its body glowed sparkling pink and then its tail glowed white and it broke up the ice into little pieces. Blaziken bent down as May ran towards it and jumped up to sit on its left shoulder. Glaceon was falling towards Blaziken as little pink ice pieces were falling to the ground.

"Blaziken, finish it up with fire spin!" May commanded.

"Blaze!" Blaziken roared as it launched a spiral of fire towards the pink ice pieces. The ice pieces broke and created an explosion of blue and pink fireworks as Glaceon landed on Blaziken's right shoulder and all three of them posed. May had her legs crossed and her left arm was raised in the air while her right hand rested on Blaziken's back. Glaceon stood tall and raised its right paw in the air while Blaziken stood up straight and placed its clenched fists on its hips. The audience broke into a massive round of applause and cheers.

"My, what an amazing performance!" Marian commented. "What did you think, judges?" Marian asked.

"The combination of ice and fire type moves made for an excellent performance." Mr Contesta replied.

"Not to mention, remarkable!" Mr Sukizo exclaimed.

"The healthy shine of Glaceon's coat and the strength that Blaziken portrayed just goes to show that May takes wonderful care of her pokemon." Nurse Joy responded.

"That was awesome!" Max exclaimed. Drew simply had a smile on his face, proud of May. May thanked the judges and walked off the stage. On her way back, she saw Dawn coming towards her.

"That was a great performance, May." Dawn complimented.

"Thanks, Dawn. Do your best out there." May encouraged as she hugged Dawn and walked backstage while Dawn ran to the stage.

"Time for our next contestant!" Marian announced as the curtain was raised to reveal Dawn.

"Go Dawn!" Kenny exclaimed.

"Pika Pi!" 'Go for it!' Pikachu encouraged.

"Bun Buneary!" 'You can do it, Dawn!' Buneary cheered.

"Piplup, Togekiss, spotlight!" Dawn instructed. Piplup and Togekiss emerged from their pokeballs with a line seal on them. They appeared from white beams that crossed over each other."

"Piplup, jump onto Togekiss' back and both of you fly high in the air!" Dawn instructed. Piplup landed on Togekiss' back and Togekiss flew them both up into the air. "Now, Piplup, use bubble beam while spinning!" Dawn instructed.

"Pip-lup lup lup!" Piplup shouted as it released a string of small blue bubbles and created multiple rings of bubbles in the air.

"Togekiss, use aura sphere in those rings!" Dawn instructed.

"Toge!" Togekiss cried as it formed multiple light blue balls in front of its mouth and launched them towards the rings, so that each aura sphere was positioned in the centre of a bubble ring.

"Piplup, use ice beam!" Dawn instructed.

"Pip-lup!" Piplup shouted as it launched a blue beam of ice towards the rings. The ice beam froze the aura spheres and bubble rings, connecting the bubble rings and aura spheres by frozen ice lines.

"Now, Togekiss, use safeguard and both of you dance through the rings!" Dawn instructed.

"Toge-kiss!" Togekiss cried as its body started to glow green and it surrounded itself and Piplup with a green barrier. Togekiss and Piplup flew through the ice rings and they exploded, creating blue fireworks around them. A stream of blue and green light trailed behind them as they danced, elegantly. Togekiss gracefully landed on the ground and Piplup jumped off of it as all three of them took a bow, in unison.

"Beautiful…" May murmured, mesmerised.

"Well folks that was simply a treat for the eyes." Marian commented. "What do you have to say, judges?" Marian asked.

"The showcasing of the two pokemon's power and beauty made for a fantastic performance." Mr Contesta replied.

"Remarkable!" Mr Sukizo exclaimed.

"It's wonderful to see two pokemon in such good health, performing side by side." Nurse Joy added.

"Wow…" Kenny muttered. Misty looked over at him and knew that he wasn't commenting on the performance. She followed his gaze and saw him looking at Dawn, captivated by her beauty.

'Number 14 'Look for increased eye contact' done." Misty checked off.

Dawn thanked the judges for their comments and walked backstage. As soon as she entered the waiting room, she was engulfed in a hug.

"Oh my gosh, Dawn! That was amazing!" May exclaimed.

"Yes, Dawn. That performance was definitely one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen." Nando complimented.

"Aww, thanks you two." Dawn replied, gratefully, as the three of them went to watch the other performances. Many coordinators performed, but finally, it was time for the last contestant.

* * *

"Now, it's time for our final contestant!" Marian announced as the curtain was raised to reveal Nando.

"Hey, I didn't know Nando was here too." Ash commented.

"Who's Nando?" Max asked.

"He's a pokemon minstrel that we met when we all travelled through the Sinnoh region before. At the time, he was having trouble deciding whether to become a pokemon trainer or a pokemon coordinator, so we helped him." Brock explained.

"Well, obviously, he chose to be a coordinator" Max stated.

"Actually, he decided to be both." Brock admitted.

"Both!?" Max replied, shocked.

"Yes, but he is a very strong coordinator and trainer." Brock told him.

"Brock, what's a pokemon minstrel?" Misty asked.

"You'll soon find out." Brock replied as he turned his attention towards the stage.

"Huh?" Misty responded, confused, as she turned to face the stage.

"Kricketune and Sunflora, please, I need your help!" Nando called. Kricketune and Sunflora emerged from their pokeballs with a song seal on them. They appeared from a stream of blue lines with yellow music notes on them.

"Sunflora, use razor leaf, if you please." Nando called.

"Sun!" Sunflora cried as it raised its arms and shot out multiple razor sharp leaves towards the ceiling.

"Kricketune, use silver wind!" Nando called.

"Kricke!" Kricketune screeched as it crossed its scythes and they started to glow light blue. It then opened them and launched silver crescents at the razor leaves, boosting them high up into the high.

"Now, use bug buzz, Kricketune!" Nando called.

"Kri!" Kricketune screeched as its wings began to glow red and its antennae were pointed in the air. Its antennae then began to vibrate and red sound waves came out of them, striking the silver wind and razor leaves. All three attacks collided and formed multi-coloured sparkles which rained down on Sunflora and Kricketune.

"Kricketune, use sing, please and Sunflora, accompany with grass whistle." Nando called as he began to play a tune on his golden harp.

"Kri!" Kricketune screeched as it put its scythes together and rubbed them against each other. Its body started to glow white and colourful music notes came out of its body.

"Sun!" Sunflora cried as it put one of its leaves in its mouth and started to blow on it. It moved its leaf back and forth as its whole body glowed white and a beautiful melody could be heard, being created by the two pokemon.

"Amazing! Showing off his pokemon through the beauty of music, only like a Minstrel would do." Marian commented.

"It's so soothing. Kricketune's sing doesn't even want to make me go to sleep." May said, eyes closed with a smile on her face.

"I know. I could listen to Nando's music for hours." Dawn replied, with the same expression as May.

"I see what you mean, Brock. He's one of a kind." Misty said.

"If you think that's good, you should see the way he battles." Brock responded.

"What did you think of our final performance, judges?" Marian asked.

"The use of his pokemon's musical abilities brought out the beauty and elegance of his pokemon in a spectacularly unique way." Mr Contesta replied.

"Absolutely remarkable!" Mr Sukizo responded.

"Nando's pokemon both have a healthy shine to them which made their performance all the more beautiful to watch." Nurse Joy added. Nando thanked the judges and walked off stage.

"Well folks, that's it for our first round performances. The scores will be added up and the results will be revealed soon." Marian announced. As Nando re-entered the waiting room, May and Dawn rushed over to him.

"Nando, your performance was simply wonderful!" Dawn complimented.

"Your pokemon were awesome!" May added.

"Thank you, my friends. As were yours." Nando replied. As the three of them waited for the results of the first round, Ash and the others came to see them.

"Guys, you were both great!" Misty cried as she hugged them both.

"Thanks, Misty!" May and Dawn responded.

"Piplup and Togekiss were great, Dawn!" Kenny exclaimed.

"Thanks, Kenny!" Dawn replied, hugging him. May and Misty shared knowing looks when a red rose flew in May's direction. May caught it with ease and turned towards the person who threw it.

"Well done, May." Drew complimented, smiling.

"Thanks, Drew!" May beamed. As they all got talking about which pokemon they were going to use in the next round, Marian appeared on the screen.

"The results are in! Here are the 8 people moving on to the next round!" Marian announced. The screen showed the 8 coordinators moving on. May was in first place, followed by Dawn, then Nando and 5 other coordinators.

"Alright, we're in!" May and Dawn cheered.

"That's awesome, you guys!" Ash exclaimed.

"Well done to you too, Nando." Brock said.

"Thanks." Nando replied.

"Our computer will now randomly shuffle the coordinators and create the pairings." Marian announced. The computer stopped shuffling and it was revealed that May would be battling Nando and Dawn would be a battling a random coordinator.

"Looks like it's you and me, Nando. Here's to a good battle." May said as she held out her hand.

"Same to you." Nando responded as he shook her hand.

"Well, we better be going." Max told them as they all went to take the seats. Drew winked at May on the way out as a sign of good luck, making May blush.

"You two better get going!" Dawn cried as she hurried May towards one door and Nando went through the other.

"Good luck, May." Dawn said as she hugged her.

"Thanks." May replied, hugging her back. As May walked down the corridor towards the stage, she looked at the rose Drew gave her.

'_You're pathetic!' Harley taunted._

May gasped and covered her mouth with her hand as she thought about that terrible day. 'No, I have to do this!' May thought as she placed the rose in her fanny pack and continued walking to the stage.

"Now, time for our first battle between May and Nando! Five minutes on the clock and begin!" Marian announced.

"Beautifly, Glaceon, take the stage!" May commanded. Beautifly and Glaceon emerged from their pokeballs with heart seals on them. They appeared from a massive pink heart that exploded and scattered smaller pink hearts everywhere.

"Kricketune and Roserade, please, I need your help!" Nando called. Kricketune and Roserade emerged from their pokeballs with flora seals on them. They appeared from a stream of purple lines with colourful flower petals on them.

"Oh no…" May whispered as she spotted Roserade. Drew looked over at May and saw the worried look on May's face.

'What's up with May?" Drew thought as he frowned, slightly.

'No, focus on the battle!' May told herself as she shook her head.

"Blaziken, use fire spin and Beautifly, use psychic!" May commanded.

"Blaze!" Blaziken roared as it released a spiral of fire towards their opponents.

"Beau!" Beautifly cried as its eyes began to glow light blue and it released a light blue beam towards Blaziken's fire spin, controlling it and giving it extra power.

"Kricketune, fury cutter, if you please." Nando called.

"Kri!" Kricketune screeched as its scythes glowed red and grew larger before it slashed the fire spin/psychic move, scattering it into little flames.

"What!?" May cried.

"Would you look at that? Kricketune broke up that combination attack like it was nothing. That's going to cost May some points." Marian commented as May lost ¼ of her points.

"Roserade, use magical leaf!" Nando called.

"Rose!" Roserade shouted as its flowers glowed green and it launched a barrage of razor sharp leaves towards Beautifly.

"Beautifly, use silver wind!" May commanded.

"Beau-tifly!" Beautifly cried as it flapped its wings and released silver crescents towards the magical leaf. However, the green leaves just cut straight through the silver wind and hit Beautifly.

"Beau!" Beautifly cried.

"No way!" May yelled as her points decreased to ½.

'What do I do?' May thought

'_You shouldn't even be a coordinator!' Harley shouted._

"Roserade, use sweet scent!" Nando called.

"Rose!" Roserade shouted as it held out its arms and aimed a pink sparkly powder at its opponents.

"Huh? Aaah! Beautifly and Blaziken-" May was snapped out of her thoughts and was about to command her pokemon, but was too late. The pink powder covered Beautifly and Blaziken, lowering their evasiveness.

"Now, Kricketune, use sing!" Nando called.

"Kri!" Kricketune screeched as it put its scythes together and rubbed them against each other. Its body started to glow white and colourful music notes came out of its body, heading straight for Beautifly and Blaziken.

"Quick, dodge it!" May commanded. Beautifly and Blaziken tried to get out of the way, but due to the effects of sweet scent, they were too slow and got hit by Kricketune's sing.

"Bla Blaz-" Blaziken whispered as it became drowsy before falling asleep.

"Blaziken, get up!" May cried.

"Beau?" Beautifly cried, confused, as it fought to keep its eyes open before it fell asleep.

"Beautifly!" May yelled.

"Well, it looks like both of May's pokemon have fallen asleep! How is May going to handle this?" Marian commented.

'Now what!?' May thought.

'_What would poor Drewy think of that awful performance? He'd be so disappointed.' Harley pointed out._

"Kricketune and Roserade. Finish this with silver wind and solar beam!" Nando called.

"Rose-rade!" Roserade shouted as it held its flowers above its head and they started to glow gold as it gathered energy. It then lowered its hands as a golden orb formed in front of Roserade's flowers and it launched a golden beam of energy towards its opponents.

"Kricke!" Kricketune screeched as it crossed its scythes and they started to glow light blue. It then opened them and launched silver crescents towards the solar beam. It boosted the solar beam's energy and speed and made for a blinding attack.

"Blaziken, Beautifly! Please, get up!" May cried. As her pokemon started to awake from their slumber, they saw the powerful attack come towards them, leaving them no time to react before it smashed them into the wall behind them.

"Aaaah!" May screamed, horrified. As the smoke cloud cleared, May's pokemon were both knocked out on the ground, swirls in their eyes. Three Xs appeared on the judges' panel.

"And there you have it folks! May's pokemon have been eliminated and her points have gone down to zero! Let's hear it for our winner, Nando!" Marian announced. Cheers and applause broke out for Nando along with some sympathetic 'awws' for May.

"What happened?" Dawn whispered. May walked over to her pokemon, who were feeling very disappointed.

"Hey, its okay you guys. You did your best and that's all I can ask for. It's my fault we lost." May told them. Beautifly and Blaziken cried in protest, but May refused to listen. "Mm-mm," May murmured, shaking her head. "I failed you as a trainer and I'm sorry." May whispered, tears brimming at her eyes. She furiously wiped them away and put on a fake smile. "Don't worry about me. I'll be fine! Return." May told them, although Beautifly and Blaziken had skeptical looks on their faces as they returned to their pokeballs. May turned around and bowed towards Nando as a thank you for a great battle. Nando nodded back in response. As May turned to walk off stage, she caught a glimpse of her friends sitting in the stands. They all bore sympathetic expressions except from Drew. He had his arms crossed and his eyes closed and he was facing away from May. May tried to hold back the tears as she stood tall and walked offstage. As she re-entered the waiting room, Dawn ran up to her.

"May!" Dawn called, but May just walked past her and out the doors.

'I guess she needs to be alone.' Dawn thought.

"What went wrong? May couldn't even land a hit." Max said.

"I don't know. I've never seen May so distracted before." Ash replied. Drew had heard enough. He got up and walked towards the doors at the top of the stairs.

"Hey, Drew! Where are you going?" Kenny asked as he got up. Drew didn't respond and just carried on through the doors.

"I think he just needs to have a little talk with May. If anyone can get through to her, he can." Brock told him. Kenny nodded and sat back down as he waited for Dawn's turn.

* * *

Outside, May walked onto the balcony and gripped the railings as she looked down and shut her eyes tightly.

"What was that May! All you've done is prove Harley right! And now Drew can't even bare to look at you…" May scalded herself.

"You're damn right, I can't." Drew said from behind her. May snapped her head up, but didn't turn around, afraid she might burst into tears. "What the hell was that, May!?" Drew shouted. "You were so unfocused, it's like your mind was elsewhere. Plus, you made so many rookie mistakes, you'd think it was your first contest. You said you were ready." Drew said, annoyed.

"You don't understand…" May whispered.

"Oh, well then, please! Please tell me because it's not like you did back then either! We're supposed to be friends, May! We've known each other for 5 years, yet you still tell Solidad and not me. That hurts…" Drew admitted. May remained silent, angering Drew further. "You know, that's not the only thing that has to do with me, is it? Don't think I didn't see the way you reacted when you saw that Nando had a Roserade." Drew pointed out. May sighed, knowing she couldn't deny it.

"You saw that, huh?" May asked.

"You bet I did! And not only that, but I watched you as you battled. You freaked out just like in your first contest battle and in case you don't remember, that was with me! We've been through everything together, the good times and the bad, but it's like you've forgotten all that." Drew replied, hurt. He sighed before continuing. "After that performance, I don't even think I can call you my rival anymore…" Drew finished, turning to go back inside. May gasped after hearing those final words and she let the tears go. She began sobbing and shaking and Drew noticed this as he turned back to see her.

"May?" Drew questioned, worried, taking a few steps towards her.

"You really want to know?" May asked. "Do you, Drew!?" May screamed, tears streaming down her face, as she whipped around to face Drew. Drew flinched and took a couple of steps back. "Alright then, I'll tell you." May said as she wiped the tears away and told Drew about that fateful day.

_**Flashback**_

_May was facing Harley in the quarter finals of the Hoenn Grand Festival, last year, and things did not go how she planned. She ended up losing miserably, but being the person she was, she went to congratulate Harley, showing good sportsmanship. However, Harley was not feeling the same way._

"_Oh, May honey! That must have been your worst loss ever and it was against me!" Harley cheered._

"_Congratulations, Harley. You battled really well." May said, ignoring his comments. This annoyed Harley so he batted her hand away and decided to dig deeper._

"_You're pathetic, you know that! You shouldn't even be a coordinator! You're a disgrace to the whole profession of coordinating!' Harley insulted. May didn't say a word._

…..

"Of course, Harley being Harley, I was used to his personality and all his tricks to try and get a reaction out of me, so I just brushed off his comments." May told Drew as he nodded in understanding. "Until he told me something I couldn't ignore…" May trailed off as she continued.

…..

'_Gotta find a way to make her cry.' Harley thought. He then noticed the rose that May was playing with absent-mindedly. 'Bingo!' Harley thought. _

"_Wow, May! That's a gorgeous rose you have there!" Harley complimented as he suddenly gasped dramatically. "I just had a thought. What would poor Drewy think of that awful performance? He'd be so disappointed." Harley pointed out. Immediately, May snapped her head up, her attention caught. _

'_Gotcha!' Harley thought._

"_W-what do you mean?" May asked, stammering._

"_Well, of course he would. I mean, he's been helping you to grow as a coordinator ever since you started out. All that hard work for nothing. What must he be thinking!?" Harley cried._

"_He won't care if I lost! Even he loses from time to time!" May retorted._

"_True, but never this badly. Face it, you're a sad excuse for a coordinator. Just give it up, already! I'm sure Drew must be too ashamed to even call you his rival." Harley criticized, rubbing salt in the wounds. May gasped, shocked he would say such a thing._

"_You're wrong! Drew would never say such a thing!" May protested, tears brimming at her tears._

"_Hahaha! You wait and see! It's only a matter of time, May dear!" Harley replied, in a sing-song voice, as he walked away, laughing like a madman._

_**End Flashback**_

"So, now you know what really happened." May finished.

"May, why didn't you tell me?" Drew asked. May laughed at his stupidity.

"Oh my Arceus, are you serious!? You just don't get it do you!?" May replied.

"Get what!?" Drew shouted, annoyed with May for not being straight with him.

"You!" May yelled. "You're the reason why I messed up today!" May admitted. Drew was taken aback.

"Me?" Drew responded, confused.

"Yes, you! The reason I didn't tell you was because I was so determined to prove Harley wrong, that I didn't think you needed to know. I was going to get back to the top and show everyone that I am the Princess of Hoenn! I was prepared and ready when we came to Sinnoh, but you kept on putting doubts in my mind. 'Are you ready, May?' 'Are you sure you want to do this, May?' You know, a bit of encouragement wouldn't have gone amiss, Drew!" May yelled.

"I didn't realise. I- I'm sorry, May," Drew apologised.

"Yeah? Well, that makes two of us," May muttered as she walked past Drew, but he grabbed a hold of her arm, keeping her in place.

"May." Drew said, clearly not done talking to her.

"You know what, Drew…" May started as she turned her head towards him. "…why don't you just do everyone a favour and LEAVE!" May spat, harshly, as she yanked her arm away from Drew's grip and stormed inside. Drew reached out for her, but no words escaped his lips. He just sighed and shoved his hands in his pockets as he walked back inside, slowly.

_**Hope you enjoyed it! What's going to happen between May and Drew? You'll have to wait for the next chapter and find out. Please R&amp;R!**_

_**xBandanaRosesx**_


	6. Chapter 5 - Heated Memories

_**Hi guys! The story continues from after May and Drew's argument in the last chapter. I understand that some of you may be confused if you have already read the chapter that I posted a few days ago, but it was pointed out to me by **__**mysteryreader6626 that the story was going too fast and they were right, so thank you for that =) Therefore, I have removed the chapter that I posted recently and I will take the story at a slower pace to lead up to that point. E**__**njoy!**_

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon**_

* * *

**Chapter 5 – Heated Memories**

* * *

After May got changed, she went to go and watch Dawn's match from the stands. She walked through the doors at the top of the stairs and plastered on a smile before walking over to where her friends were sitting.

"Hi guys!" May greeted, cheerily, taking a seat next to Brock.

"Hi, May. I'm sorry about your loss," Max said, sympathetically.

"Oh, that's okay. I'll do better next time, but thanks anyway, Max," May replied, gratefully.

"Hey, May, where's Drew?" Brock asked. May's eye twitched, knowing that was coming.

"I don't know, he's probably gone for a walk or something," May answered, ambiguously.

"Is everything alright?" Ash asked.

"Fine!" May responded, quickly, clearly not wanting to talk about the sensitive subject. "So, how's Dawn doing?" May asked.

"Well, Dawn and Nando are battling in the finals at the moment and its pretty close." Kenny replied.

"Alright, folks, we have 1 minute remaining on the clock and the points are neck and neck. Who will pull it out of the bag and win the Hearthome ribbon?" Marian commented.

"Piplup, use hydro pump and Quilava, use flamethrower!" Dawn instructed.

"Lup!" Piplup cried as it spouted out a large jet of water towards their opponents.

"Lava!" Quilava roared as it shot out a stream of fire towards the hydro pump. The fire mixed with the water to create a powerful fusion move.

"Roserade, use magical leaf and Kricketune, use fury cutter!" Nando called.

"Rose!" Roserade shouted as it released multiple light green leaves towards the fire/water move.

"Kri!" Kricketune screeched as its scythes glowed red and grew larger before they struck the light green leaves and sent them flying towards the fusion move, like sharp knives. The two attacks collided and smoke filled the stage causing both Dawn and Nando to cover their faces.

"Quick, Quilava use eruption and Piplup, finish it with ice beam!" Dawn instructed.

"Qui-lava!" Quilava roared as it lowered its head and launched a geyser of red-orange fire from the flame on its head.

"Pip-lup!" Piplup cried as it aimed a light blue stream of ice at the eruption, forming a variation of May's ice rocket. It came shooting out of the cloud of smoke and caught Roserade and Kricketune unawares, knocking them into the wall.

"No! Kricketune and Roserade!" Nando cried. As the timer reached zero, Kricketune and Roserade were revealed to have fainted from the attack. Three Xs were shown on the judges' panel and the results were in.

"Well folks, there you have it! Nando's pokemon are unable to battle, which means the winner of the Hearthome contest is Dawn with her Piplup and Quilava!" Marian announced.

"We did it!" Dawn exclaimed as Piplup and Quilava ran up to her.

"Thank you, both!" Dawn thanked them as she gave them both a hug.

"You battled well, Roserade and Kricketune. Take a good rest." Nando said as he returned his pokemon. He walked over to Dawn congratulate her.

"A great battle, Dawn. Well done," Nando congratulated.

"Thanks, Nando!" Dawn replied, happily. Nando nodded his head at her and walked off.

* * *

"And now, Mr Contesta will present our winner, Dawn, with the Hearthome ribbon!" Marian announced.

"You deserve this, dear. That was an excellent performance." Mr Contesta told Dawn.

"Thank you very much!" Dawn replied, happily. "Alright! There's no need to worry now because this ribbon is all mine!" Dawn cheered.

"Pip Piplup!" Piplup cried.

"You were amazing, Dawn! And that fusion move you pulled off at the end was fantastic!" Kenny complimented.

"Thanks, Kenny, but the credit should really go to May." Dawn admitted.

"Me?" May asked, confused.

"Yes. It was your ice rocket that inspired my last fusion move and without it, I wouldn't be holding this ribbon in my hands, so I want you to have it, May." Dawn told her as she handed May the ribbon.

"Oh, no, I can't take this, Dawn," May protested, trying to give it back.

"Yes, you can. I want you to have it." Dawn replied, closing May's hands around the ribbon. "Besides, if you were in the finals with me, you probably would have beaten me anyway." Dawn added with a wink.

"Oh my god, I don't know what to say…" May said, tearing up.

"You don't have to say anything, just please accept the ribbon." Dawn responded.

"Okay. Thank you so much," May thanked her, hugging her as a few tears escaped her eyes.

"That was really sweet of you, Dawn." Kenny told her.

"Thanks, Kenny." Dawn replied, blushing. "Now, let me just go and get changed." Dawn said as she rushed off to the changing room.

* * *

The others were talking amongst themselves while they waited for Dawn, outside, until Kenny realised something.

"Hey, does anyone know where Drew is?" Kenny inquired. Everyone started to wonder the same thing, except May who started to feel a little doubtful.

'He didn't. Did he?' May questioned herself. Just then, Dawn walked out of the doors, changed into her day clothes, holding something in her right hand.

"What have you got there, Dawn?" Ash asked.

"Well, I found it in my locker when I went to get my clothes. It's for May." Dawn told them.

"For me?" May asked as Dawn handed her the gift. It was a fully bloomed black rose.

"A rose? There's only one person who gives those to May." Max said.

"Drew…" May whispered, fingering the rose.

"But, why is it black?" Kenny pointed out.

"Well, black roses usually mean death, farewell or goodbye." Misty told them.

"Goodbye!?" May cried, slightly angered.

"Oh, wait! This note came with it." Dawn remembered as she reached into her bag and pulled out the note that had May's name on it. She gave it to May and May opened the note. It read 'I'm sorry' on it. May gasped as she remembered what Drew once told her,

'_I'll never leave you, May.'_

"He- He lied…" May whispered as she crumpled up the note and looked down, so that her hair shadowed her face. She clenched her fists, tightly, and began to shake. Everyone noticed this and became worried.

"May?" Dawn asked, reaching out to put her hand on her shoulder.

"AAAAAHHHH!" May screamed, furious, making Dawn instantly retract her hand and causing everyone else to jump.

"So, Drew's gone, is he!? Well, you know what? Good! I didn't need him then and I don't need him now!" May yelled as she threw the black rose on the ground and stamped on it, twisting her foot from side to side, on the spot, as she crushed the flower. Once she removed her foot, you could see that all the petals were in small bits and they were no longer attached to the broken stem. She ripped the note up into tiny pieces as she scattered them in the wind and stormed off.

"I'm going to go and check on her before she does any more damage." Dawn told them as she ran after May.

"I'll come with you." Misty called as she went with Dawn to find May.

"What do you think that was all about?" Ash asked.

"I don't know, but I think it's best if we let them deal with it. They might understand better than us. I mean, imagine how you would feel if your best friend just up and left." Brock told him. Ash agreed and the boys walked back to the pokemon center.

"I hope she's okay," Max whispered.

* * *

Meanwhile, Drew was walking through the forest, talking to his Roserade.

"It's all my fault Roserade. She even told me herself." Drew admitted.

"Rose Roserade Rose?" 'Then why didn't you make it up to her instead of leaving?' Roserade asked.

"She told me to go, Roserade." Drew replied.

'Rose Rose-rade," 'I'm sure she didn't mean it,' Roserade responded, trying to cheer up its trainer.

"You didn't hear her, Roserade. She meant it alright. And now she hates me!" Drew yelled as he kicked a rock, which hit a nearby tree. Suddenly, many sharp red eyes appeared in the tree.

"Stay on your guard, Roserade," Drew warned. A bunch of angry looking beedrill emerged from the tree and surrounded Drew and Roserade. Before Drew had the chance to release his other pokemon, the Beedrill attacked.

"Bee!" The beedrill shouted as they released a barrage of twineedle attacks at Drew and Roserade.

"Roserade, use magical leaf!" Drew ordered.

"Roserade!" Roserade shouted as it spun around and released multiple light green leaves at the beedrill. Roserade managed to protect Drew, by hitting the beedrill with magical leaf which made them all run away, but one of the beedrill's attacks managed to strike Drew.

"Aargh!" Drew yelled as he held his left upper arm in pain.

"Rose? Rose!" 'Huh? Drew!' Roserade cried as it ran over to its trainer. It removed Drew's hand and saw that it was bleeding from a deep cut caused by the twineedle attack.

"Don't worry, Roserade. I'm fine," Drew reassured it. Roserade was still a bit doubtful. "Look, I promise to get it checked out straight away, okay? Thanks for listening earlier. Return," Drew thanked it as he returned it to its pokeball.

"Rose." 'Anytime.' Roserade replied as it was sucked into its pokeball. Drew put Roserade's pokeball in his pocket and decided to walk back to the pokemon center.

'Roserade's right. I can't leave things like this. Hopefully, I'll be able to find May and put things right.' Drew thought as he walked back towards the pokemon center.

* * *

May went back to the pokemon center and decided to train for the next contest, so she headed to the battlefield.

"To hell with Drew! I can become a top coordinator on my own!" May cried, determined. "Beautifly, take the stage!" May commanded. Beautifly appeared from its pokeball, but it knew that something was wrong.

"Beau?" 'What's the matter?' Beautifly asked.

"It's nothing, Beautifly." May replied.

"Beau Beautifly," 'You can tell me,' Beautifly urged, worried about its trainer.

"It's not important. Just drop it." May told her pokemon. "Now, if we want to do better in our next contest, then we need to train." May told Beautifly. Beautifly was hesitant, but knew that May would talk when she was ready, so it agreed to train.

"May!" Dawn called, running up to her. Misty followed behind.

"What was that back there?" Dawn asked.

"What was what?" May asked.

"Your sudden anger and crushing the rose that Drew gave you." Misty said. Hearing Drew's name made May's eye twitch.

"Doesn't matter." May replied.

"But- Dawn said, but was cut off by May.

"I said it doesn't matter, so just leave it," May responded, slightly annoyed. Dawn was worried about May, but soon became annoyed with her stubbornness.

"No. Look May, we're your best friends and you are going to let us help you," Dawn told her, seriously. May didn't want to hear this right now, so she decided to ignore them and continued with her training.

"Beautifly, use silver wind!" May commanded. Beautifly looked from May to Dawn to Misty and was unsure on what to do. "Look, Beautifly, just pretend that they're not here, okay?" May told it. Beautifly nodded and prepared to use the move.

"May," Misty said, sternly, trying to get May to listen.

"Once again, Beautifly, use silver wind!" May commanded.

"Beautifly!" Beautifly cried as it released multiple shiny, silver crescents, into the air. Dawn and Misty were getting pissed off with May for ignoring them, so they were going to get her attention somehow.

"May, we're not leaving. Now, tell us what happened with Drew," Dawn demanded. May twitched again, hearing his name, but still pretended to not hear them.

Now, use psychic!" May commanded.

"Beau!" Beautifly cried as its eyes glowed blue and the silver wind became outlined in blue. It controlled the silver wind to make them form the shape of a heart. Beautifly already knew how this appeal worked because May had practiced this before, in hopes of using it in a contest, once it was polished enough. May might not admit it, but she has strong feelings for a certain emerald haired coordinator that anyone can easily see except for the two people involved. Beautifly often became frustrated by this, so made an agreement with Drew's Masquerain to help them get together. This was one of the way's that Beautifly helped it along and the look of pure delight that was on May's face, the first time they practiced this appeal, only confirmed Beautifly's suspicions.

"What did Drew say to you?" Misty asked.

"Nothing," May muttered. "Now, Beautifly, use morning sun!" May commanded.

"Beau-tifly!" Beautifly cried as it began to glow white and rays of light shone out of its body, illuminating the heart. Dawn and Misty looked at May's appeal and gasped in awe.

"Amazing…" They whispered. Beautifly was proud of its work and May smiled to herself, glad they finally got it right.

'_I'll be there every step of the way.'_

The only thing was, Drew wasn't there. The one person that she wanted to see her accomplishment and he failed to keep his word. May felt the rage bubble up inside of her once again.

"Beautifly, finish it up aerial ace!" May commanded.

"Beau?" 'Huh?' Beautifly questioned as it looked at May, confused, thinking the appeal was over.

"You heard me. Straight through." May told Beautifly.

"May, what are you doing?" Dawn asked.

"It's amazing! There's nothing else you need to do." Misty told her.

"Thanks for the advice, but I'll decide that, shall I?" May spat, making Dawn and Misty look at each other with confused expressions on their faces. "Aerial ace, Beautifly!" May commanded. Beautifly didn't want to ruin its hard work, so didn't move, but instead looked at May with a pleading look. May became annoyed that Beautifly wouldn't listen to her.

"Do it!" May shouted. Beautifly flinched, but knew that it couldn't disobey its trainer.

"Beau!" Beautifly cried as it flew into the air and did a flip. White streaks surrounded its body as it struck the center of the heart. The heart broke into two and shattered as the pieces fell to the ground. May smirked slightly, proud of what she did. Misty and Dawn saw this and knew something was wrong.

"May, you can't keep lying to us. You can't pretend that you're not hurting. Your appeal says it all." Misty said. May was getting really annoyed with them.

"Leave it." May replied.

"No! We won't!" Dawn shouted, angered. "I know something happened between you two." Dawn stated.

"I said leave it!" May yelled, glaring at her. Misty saw the tears that glistened in May's eyes and thought that maybe they should leave her alone for a bit. Dawn, however, was clouded by her frustration and couldn't see this.

"Dawn, maybe we should leave her for a bit." Misty told her.

"No, she needs to stop being stubborn and let us help her." Dawn said. May gritted her teeth, anger threatening to boil over.

"Dawn," Misty warned, trying to get Dawn to back off, but Dawn was having none of it.

"Look, just tell us why you're so angry with Drew!" Dawn shouted. May had finally had enough.

"Why don't you mind your own fucking business!?" May screamed. Dawn and Misty were taken aback. May had never spoken like that to anyone before. "Drew and I had a fight and he left. End of story." May told them. "You know what, I'm glad he did. That bastard's been nothing but a complete jerk to me, so why should I give a toss about him! I couldn't care less if I never saw him again, so why don't you just drop it and leave me the hell alone!" May yelled as she pushed past them and stomped off to their room.

"I cannot believe her! We were only trying to help. Well, you know what, no-one speaks to me like that and gets away with it," Dawn said, pissed off, as she followed May.

"Beau Beautifly?" Beautifly cried, distressed, as it landed on Misty's head.

"Don't worry, Beautifly. Everything will be alright," Misty comforted as she walked inside the pokemon center. However, unbeknownst to them all, someone had heard the whole exchange. Hearing May's words broke his heart and he dropped the rose he was holding, knowing he had well and truly blown it. He sighed and slowly walked back through the forest.

* * *

May got to her room and saw a red rose lying on her bed. She was confused by this and walked over to it. She saw a note attached to it. It read 'For your Beautifly'. May laughed at the age old line, but when she saw the words 'Love Drew' written at the bottom, the events of today flashed before her and something inside of her snapped.

"Aaargh!" May screamed as she forcefully pulled all the petals off the rose and threw it out the window. She then proceeded to mess up the room. She walked over to the dresser and swiped everything off of it, with her arms, knocking all the stuff onto the floor. May emptied her bag onto the floor and all of her stuff fell out, including her blue dress. An evil grin formed on her face as she headed for the bathroom.

* * *

"I've never seen May so angry before." Max said.

"I know what you mean. The only other time I've seen her this angry is the time that Team Rocket stole our food when her and Dawn were battling Charleton and Charlene at the Seven Stars Restaurant back at Lake Valor." Ash replied.

"Oh yeah, I sure remember that." Brock added, chuckling.

"What happened?" Kenny asked.

"Well, when May came to the Sinnoh region, to compete in the Wallace Cup, she told us that she had made lunch reservations at a popular place called the Seven Stars Restaurant. When we got there, we found out that before we were allowed to order anything, we had to beat the owner and his fiancé in a pokemon battle." Ash explained.

"Ash and I battled them first with Sudowoodo and Pikachu and we knocked out their Munchlax and Snorlax in just one move, surprisingly. We were allowed to go and eat, but we refused to go without the girls. Then, May and Dawn went to battle them, but before they could, the waiter burst in and said all the food had been stolen. May was outraged and vows that she will make whoever stole our food, pay. She sent out Munchlax to follow the food scent which led us to Team Rocket and May sent them blasting off. Finally, her and Dawn got their chance to battle, and they won, so we all went to eat." Brock finished.

"Well, that definitely sounds like my sister." Max said as they boys started laughing. They walked into the pokemon center and saw Dawn stomp down the hall, towards her room, and Misty walk in from the battlefield with Beautifly on her head. Both Misty and Beautifly bore worried expressions.

"Misty, what's wrong?" Ash asked.

"Well, Dawn and I wanted to know what was wrong with May, but she refused to tell us, so we kept pushing and pushing until she flipped. She stormed off to her room and Dawn followed her." Misty explained. Suddenly, they heard a loud crash coming from May, Dawn and Misty's room. They all ran to the room to see what was going on. Dawn was already there and opened the door to see May cutting up her contest dress with a pair of scissors.

"No, May! What are you doing!?" Dawn cried. May ignored her, however, and once the dress was in shreds, she picked up her stuff and started tossing it around the room. Dawn managed to duck, just in time, before May's ribbon case hit her head. The others burst in and saw May in a rage.

"May, you need to calm down!" Max shouted.

"Don't tell me what to do, Max!" May yelled. Ash looked at Pikachu and they both nodded.

"Pikachu, use thunderbolt!" Ash ordered.

"Pika-chu!" Pikachu cried as it struck May with a bolt of electricity.

"Aaahhhh!" May screamed as she was shocked by Pikachu's thunderbolt and fell to the floor.

"Alright, guys. We'll take it from here." Misty said as the boys left the room and Dawn helped May up.

"May, you can't keep it all bottled up." Dawn told her. May looked at her and sighed.

"Fine." May replied as she told them about the day she returned to Johto.

_**Flashback**_

May was on the ferry heading back to Johto after she went to the Sinnoh region to compete in the Wallace Cup. She was worrying about what everyone would say about her loss. Harley, Solidad, but most of all, Drew.

'What must he think of me?' May thought, troubled. May was brought out of her thoughts as the ferry came to a stop at the Cherrygrove City port. The ferry docked in the port and as she walked off the ferry, she spotted Harley, Solidad and Drew all waiting for her. She walked over to them with a fake smile plastered on her face.

"Oh, May honey! So good to see you!" Harley greeted. "Such a shame about that loss though," Harley said, feigning sympathy.

"Hi! I'm glad to be back! Yeah, but I'll be fine. No need to worry!" May answered, cheerily, ignoring Harley's fake concern. Drew sensed something wasn't right and eyed her suspiciously.

"No need to worry?" Solidad asked.

"Oh, it's a phrase that my new friend, Dawn, uses all the time. I guess she must have rubbed off on me." May admitted.

"Well, she's sounds like a nice person. I'm glad you two can still be friends even after your loss. It show's good sportsmanship." Solidad told her. "Why don't we head back to the pokemon center?" Solidad suggested.

"Alright." May agreed. May was quiet the whole way back which worried Drew.

"May, gingerbread cookie, you must be hungry after that devastating loss. Why don't we grab something to eat?' Harley suggested. Solidad elbowed him in the stomach for bringing up her loss and Harley half glared at her.

"Uh, no thanks. I think I'm going to go for a walk. I'm not really that hungry." May said as she walked off. Drew told Harley and Solidad where he was going and followed May. Solidad and Harley smirked knowingly at each other as Drew walked off.

...

May was sitting on the top of a hill, near to the pokemon center, as she stared out at the sunset.

"Drew hasn't spoken to me the whole time I was back. He must be really disappointed in me…" May trailed off saddened.

"No, I'm not." A voice said from behind her. May turned around and saw Drew standing there. He walked over to her and sat next to her. Their closeness made May blush slightly.

"Why would you think that?" Drew asked.

"Well, I haven't been doing that great since I came to Johto, so I went to Sinnoh to compete in the Wallace Cup, so that I could prove to you-" May explained, but was cut off by Drew.

"Wait. Prove to me? You've got nothing to prove to me, May." Drew told her.

"So, you don't think that I'm a failure?" May asked.

"Of course not, May. You're a great coordinator. I know that and so does everyone else. You're just going through a rough patch, that's all. Everyone does," Drew reassured.

"Even you?" May asked.

"Well, I'm the exception," Drew replied, arrogantly, as he flicked his hair, making May laugh.

"Thanks for cheering me up, Drew," May thanked him.

"What are friends for?" Drew replied. "Just don't get down on yourself. If you ever need to talk, I'm always here." Drew told her.

"Always?" May asked.

"Always. I'll never leave you, May. I'll be there every step of the way." Drew answered as he placed his hand on top of hers. The two watched the sunset, in silence, together, blushing bright red.

_**End Flashback**_

"There. Now you know." May finished. Dawn and Misty looked at May sympathetically. "I'm sorry for screaming at you." May apologised.

"No, I'm sorry for not understanding. I know you miss Drew-" Dawn started, but was cut off by May.

"Miss him!? Why would I miss him!?" May shouted.

"May, we know that you do, so don't even try to deny it." Misty told her.

"I'm not denying anything! He's gone and I'm glad." May stated.

"Well, we all know that's a lie, don't we?" Dawn replied.

"Oh yeah and how do you know that!?" May yelled, frustrated.

"You like him!" Misty and Dawn shouted in unison. May blushed, knowing she couldn't deny it.

"Alright, so maybe I do miss him a little, but he doesn't give a toss about me." May replied, saddened, as she looked down.

"He cares about you, a lot, May." Misty told her.

"Yeah right!" May scoffed, crossing her arms.

"May, if you just opened your eyes, you would see that he's crazy about you!" Dawn cried.

"Then, why did he leave!? Tell me, if you know so much!" May screamed. Dawn and Misty sat in silence, not sure how to reply. "Exactly! He left!" May shouted as tears brimmed at her eyes. "He promised that he'd never leave me and now he's gone!" May cried as she fell to her knees and sobbed. Dawn and Misty walked over to May and comforted her as she cried her poor heart out.

* * *

_**Hope you enjoyed it! A bit of a sad ending to the chapter, but I promise it will get better =) Please R&amp;R!**_

_**xBandanaRosesx**_


	7. Chapter 6 - Thinking About You

_**Hi guys! The last chapter was a bit sad, but I'm afraid this chapter isn't much better. There will be the use of two songs in this chapter **__**(AN: Won't use any actual lyrics because it breaks content guidelines). **__**Enjoy!**_

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon or any of the characters or any of the songs used in this chapter**_

* * *

**Chapter 6 – Thinking About You**

* * *

That night, Misty and Dawn tried talking to May to help her get over Drew leaving, but nothing could bring her out of her depressive state. She was curled up in her bed, facing the wall, while Dawn and Misty were sitting on her bed, trying to get her out of the room.

"May, we're going to eat dinner. Why don't you come with us?" Misty suggested.

"No, thanks. You guys go ahead. I'm not hungry." May told them. Dawn and Misty exchanged worried glances, but knew that she wasn't going to change her mind, so they made their way to the door. Dawn put her hand on the door handle, but stopped and looked back at May

"We'll come and check you on later, okay?" Dawn said. May nodded, wordlessly, and pulled the covers over her head. Dawn sighed and opened the door, as she and Misty walked out of the room, before closing the door behind them.

* * *

The boys, minus Ash, were all sitting in the pokemon center dining room, eating dinner, as they discussed today's events.

"May's never been so violent in her whole life. What's wrong with her, Brock?" Max asked, worriedly.

"Nothing's wrong with her, Max. She's just going through a tough time at the moment." Brock replied.

"Yeah, but she's gone through many tough times before. Like when she lost to Solidad in the Kanto Grand Festival semi-finals. She didn't take that so badly, so what's different now?" Max questioned, confused.

"I can explain that." Dawn told them as she and Misty walked into the room. Dawn took her place next to Kenny and Misty sat next to Ash. "Look, we all know that May likes Drew and Drew likes May, correct?" Dawn said. Everyone nodded in agreement. "Well, there's a thin line between like and love. Liking someone can merely be a passing affection, but love is a connection on a much deeper level. Now, I'm not saying that they love each other, but they definitely have something much more than friendship." Dawn explained.

"Okay, but how does that explain May's anger?" Max asked.

"Well, the heart is a very fragile thing, Max, and losing someone so close to you can be hard. Drew's absence affected May in such a way that she never thought possible, so instead, she chose to ignore the pain in her heart by taking it out on everyone and everything that she loves most. Once she calmed down, the sudden realisation of it all just hit her and she broke down. She's hurting, that's all." Dawn answered.

"So, it's Drew's fault that my sister's like this. Wait 'til I get my hands on him," Max growled, as he stood up, angered.

"Now, now, Max. Dawn never said that it was Drew's fault." Misty said. Max sat down and signaled for Misty to continue. "We may not know his reasons, but Drew wouldn't have left May unless he felt he needed to, so I'm sure that it was hard for him too. They both just need time to sort out their feelings. Time is a great healer." Misty told him.

"But, how can I help her?" Max inquired.

"You can't. I'm afraid that this is something that only May and Drew can fix themselves. Just being there for her and knowing she has all of us to turn to is all she needs right now." Misty explained.

"Okay," Max sighed. Dawn and Misty gave him sympathetic smiles as they both went over to comfort him.

"Hey Brock, where's Ash?" Kenny asked.

"He said that he needed to talk to Professor Oak about something. He should back in a minute." Brock replied. Just then, Ash rushed into the room.

"Oh man, I am so pumped!" Ash cried.

"How come?" Kenny asked.

"I just heard from Nurse Joy that Fantina's back which means I can battle her tomorrow!" Ash responded.

"Aaah! Nurse Joy!" Brock exclaimed as he dashed off to find his "love". Everyone sweat dropped at his behaviour.

"Anyway, I'm going to and do some last minute battle practice." Ash said.

"Can I come and watch?" Kenny asked.

"Sure." Ash replied as he and Kenny walked over to the battlefield. Dawn and Misty remained in the dining room with Max.

"I think I'm going to call mum and dad. They'll want to know how we are." Max said. Misty and Dawn looked at him, worried. "Don't worry, I won't tell them about May. She doesn't need that right now," Max reassured them.

"You're a great kid, Max." Dawn told him, giving him a hug.

"And an even better little brother." Misty added as she also gave him a hug before the two of them went to go and watch Ash practice and Max went to call his parents.

* * *

Outside on the battlefield, Ash was telling Kenny about his last battle with Fantina.

"Okay, so keeping that in mind, which pokemon are you going to use?" Kenny asked.

"Well, I promised Gliscor that I would use it in my next gym battle, so Gliscor's in. Plus, Drifblim is Fantina's strongest pokemon and electric type moves are super effective, so Pikachu's in too." Ash told him.

"Pika!" Pikachu cried, determined.

"What about your last pokemon?" Kenny asked.

"That's what I was talking to Professor Oak about. Here, I'll show you. Come on out!" Ash called. A golden bird with red wings and red tail appeared from its pokeball. It had a dark brown triangle pattern of feathers running down its chest and two bushy, cream-coloured feather eyebrow tufts.

"Hey, it's Noctowl!" Misty cried as she and Dawn walked outside.

"Noctowl, huh?" Kenny replied. He took out his red Sinnoh pokedex and scanned Noctowl.

'Noctowl. The owl pokemon. The evolved form of Hoot Hoot. This highly intelligent pokemon often twists its head 180 degrees when it is thinking. Noctowl is a nocturnal pokemon.'

"How did you catch a shiny noctowl?" Kenny asked.

"Well, when I was travelling in the Johto region with Brock and Misty, we roamed through the Ilex forest on the way to Goldenrod City. We met Dr Wiseman who was trying to catch this shiny noctowl, but it was pretty good at using hypnosis to try and stop anyone from catching it." Ash explained.

"If I remember, that included you too, Ash." Misty added.

"What happened?" Dawn asked.

"Noctowl hypnotised Ash and made him think he was talking to Pikachu when he was actually talking to a rock. He even tried to pick it up." Misty said, giggling, causing Kenny, Dawn and Pikachu to laugh and Ash to blush, slightly, out of embarrassment.

"Anyway, when Team Rocket tried to steal it, I rescued Noctowl. Noctowl challenged me to a battle and Dr Wiseman decided that it was my turn to try and catch Noctowl, so I battled it and caught it instead. It's actually smaller than the average Noctowl, but it's pretty rare and valuable." Ash told him.

"Cool," Kenny replied, in awe.

"So, Noctowl, up for some last battle practice?"

"Noc." Noctowl replied, nodding.

"Pikachu, want to be Noctowl's battle partner?" Ash asked.

"Pika." 'Sure.' Pikachu responded. It scampered over to the other side of the battlefield and prepared for battle.

"Noctowl, use air slash!" Ash ordered.

"Noc!" Noctowl called, as it raised its wings above its head. A spiralling light blue orb of energy formed in between its wings and it threw it towards Pikachu. As it headed towards Pikachu, the ball became surrounded by a light blue aura.

"Pikachu, knock it back with iron tail!" Ash ordered.

"Pika!" Pikachu cried as its tail glowed white. It struck the air slash and sent it flying back towards Noctowl.

"Quick, Noctowl, dodge it!" Ash ordered. Noctowl flew up and the blue orb hit the wall behind it.

"Alright, Pikachu use thunderbolt!" Ash ordered.

"Pika-chu!" Pikachu cried as it released a bolt of electricity and aimed it at Noctowl.

"Noctowl, use sky attack!" Ash ordered.

"Towl!" Noctowl called as its eyebrow tufts began to glow white and it flew into the air, dodging the thunderbolt. Its body became surrounded by a white aura as it flew towards Pikachu, at a fast rate.

"Pikachu, use quick attack to dodge!" Ash ordered. Pikachu's body became surrounded by a white aura, but before it could dodge, Noctowl hit it and knocked it back into the tree.

"Pika!" Pikachu cried as its back hit the tree, and it slid to the ground.

"Pikachu! Are you alright?" Ash asked.

"Pika Pi!" Pikachu cried as it stood up and gave Ash a thumbs up.

"Wow, Noctowl. Your speed has increased a lot. That's great!" Ash praised. "That's enough for now. Return." Ash said as he called Noctowl back to its pokeball. "Pikachu, come back over here." Ash called.

"Pi- Pika?" Pikachu replied, as it noticed something red lying by the tree. Pikachu walked over to it and picked it up. It put the object in its mouth and ran back over to Ash, jumping onto his shoulder.

"What have you got there, Pikachu?" Ash asked. Pikachu gave him what it was holding. "A red rose?" Ash said, confused.

"Drew's the only person who carries those, but when would he have dropped it by the tree?" Dawn questioned. The others began thinking until Misty gasped.

"What is it, Misty?" Ash asked.

"It's possible that Drew felt bad about leaving May and came back to make it up to her, but if I'm right, then that means that he heard everything that May said earlier which is why he's not here right now." Misty explained.

"Poor Drew." Dawn replied. "I'll go and give this to May." Dawn said as she took the rose and walked back into the pokemon center.

* * *

Dawn walked to the room that she, May and Misty were sharing, but just as she was about to knock on the door, she heard soft singing. May was singing 'When Your Gone' by Avril Lavigne. It broke Dawn's heart to hear her best friend hurting so much. May was missing Drew. Her friend, but not just that, her secret crush. She feels abandoned and she just doesn't know what to do.

"I miss you." May sang, sadly, as she began to cry. Dawn gently knocked on the door and May quickly wiped the tears away as Dawn came into the room.

"Hi May. How are you feeling?" Dawn asked.

"Okay," May whispered. Dawn walked over to her and sat down on her bed.

"May, I know it's hard, but it'll get better. I promise," Dawn reassured.

"Thanks, Dawn." May replied, hugging her.

"Oh, before I forget, Pikachu found this outside." Dawn said, giving May the rose.

"A rose?" May questioned, confused.

"Yeah. Ash was training out on the battlefield and Pikachu found it lying by a tree." Dawn told her.

"But, when would it have…" May trailed off as she looked up at Dawn. Dawn had a sad look on her face and May gasped out of realisation.

"He came back, didn't he?" May asked. Dawn nodded in response. "Drew heard all the horrible things that I said about him. I'm the reason he's not here. He must think that I hate him," May replied, saddened. "I didn't mean any of it!" May cried.

"I know that, May, and deep down, I'm sure Drew knows that too. I think he just needs some space." Dawn told her. "You must be tired. Why don't you try and get some sleep?" Dawn suggested.

"Alright." May replied.

"It will be okay, May." Dawn said as she walked out of the room and shut the door. May looked at the beautiful red rose in her hands.

"Drew…" May whispered as a few tear drops fell onto the petals of the delicate flower. She wiped the tears away and chose to take Dawn's advice. She got out of bed and grabbed the empty glass of water that Misty had left for her earlier. May went to the bathroom and filled the glass with water before placing the rose in the glass and setting it down on the dresser. May went to her bag and decided to listen to some music to try and help her sleep. She picked up her iPod, sat down by the window, plugged in her earphones and pressed play. The first song that came on was 'No Air' by Jordin Sparks.

"Tell me how I'm supposed to breathe with no air…" May whispered as she began to sing the song. [First verse]

Little did May know, Drew was also singing the same song, at the same time, in his room, in another pokemon center.

"I'm here alone, didn't want to leave." Drew sang, sitting on his bed. [Second Verse]

May started to walk around her room as she sang the next verse. [Third Verse]

May stood with her back against the wall and Drew leant against the wooden bedframe, with his right foot against it, as they sang the chorus together. [Chorus]

Drew walked around his room, making hand gestures as he continued to sing. [Fourth Verse]

May pushed off of the wall and placed her left hand on her head as she sang the next verse. [Fifth Verse]

Drew pounded on the wall and May gripped onto the bedframe as they sang the chorus. [Chorus] They both made dramatic movements as they poured their heart and souls into the song.

May and Drew slowly made their way to the window as they finished up the song.

"No air…" They whispered as they finished the song, and placed their hands on the cold glass, looking out the window, wishing the other was there with them.

* * *

The next morning, everyone went with Ash to the Hearthome gym, so that Ash could challenge Fantina. Ash knocked on the door and asked for Fantina.

"Fantina, it's me, Ash! I challenge you to a battle!" Ash called. The doors of the Hearthome gym opened and Ash walked in. The referee of the match showed Ash to the battlefield as he notified Fantina of the challenger. The others walked to the stands, but just as May was about to go, Dawn grabbed her arm.

"Hey May! Aren't you gonna change?" Dawn asked.

"No thanks. I don't feel like cheering today," May told her, depressed.

"Oh, okay," Dawn replied, sadly.

"Wartortle and Beautifly will cheer with you though." May added as she threw the two pokeballs into the air.

"War Wartortle!" Wartortle cheered, dressed in its cheerleader outfit.

"Beau…" Beautifly whispered, not feeling itself.

"What's wrong, Beautifly?" May asked.

"I think Beautifly misses Masquerain." Dawn told her.

"Oh, Beautifly. It's okay." May reassured, giving Beautifly a hug. "You can come and sit with me." May said.

"Beau." 'Okay.' Beautifly replied. Dawn went to get changed and May walked to the stands with Beautifly and Wartortle.

* * *

Dawn came out dressed in her cheerleader outfit, along with Piplup and Buneary, and Wartortle joined them as they prepared to cheer. Misty smiled, watching Dawn and the pokemon practice their cheer. She looked over at May and a frown came upon her face. Beautifly was sitting on May's lap and May was holding onto it. They both wore sad expressions on their faces.

"May? Are you okay?" Misty asked.

"Huh? Oh, yeah, I'm getting by." May replied. "Don't worry, I've got Beautifly to keep me company. Beautifly's the only one who really understands how I'm feeling." May admitted, petting Beautifly on the head. Misty knew that May was feeling much worse than she let on, but she decided to leave it for now.

"Okay, ready guys?" Dawn asked. All the pokemon nodded. "C'mon Ash, c'mon Ash, take them down! You can do it, so don't you frown!" Dawn cheered as the pokemon cheered along with her.

"Thanks, Dawn!" Ash thanked her. The referee took his place at the side of the battlefield.

"Now, please let me introduce the elegant mademoiselle that is the Hearthome gym leader, Fantina!" The referee announced.

"Hello everyone! Oh, it is Ash!" Fantina cried.

"Hi, Fantina!" Ash greeted.

"So, have you come for the relic badge?" Fantina asked.

"You bet! This will be my second Sinnoh badge." Ash told her.

"Alright, but don't forget, the relic badge is not an easy one to win." Fantina informed.

"Don't worry, I remember." Ash replied.

"The match between Ash, the challenger, and Fantina, the gym leader will now get underway. This will be a three-on-three battle and only the challenger is allowed to make substitutions. The match will be over when all of one side's pokemon is unable to battle. Begin!" The referee announced.

"Mismagius, battle position!" Fantina called.

"Gliscor, I choose you!" Ash commanded.

"Mismagius, use psybeam!" Fantina commanded.

"Magius!" Mismagius cried as its eyes began to glow multi-coloured and its body became outlined in a multi-coloured outline. It then fired a multi-coloured beam from its eyes and aimed it towards Gliscor.

"Gliscor, spin and use stone edge!" Ash commanded.

"Gli!" Gliscor shouted as two blue rings appeared around its body. They began to glow white and formed into white stones that spun around Gliscor's body. Gliscor started to spin and as the white glow faded into grey rocks, it formed a defensive barrier that stopped the psybeam from making contact with Gliscor.

"There's the famous counter shield." Brock commented.

"Counter shield?" May asked.

"Right. When we travelled through Sinnoh before, Ash came up with the counter shield as a strategy to defend against hypnosis, but it can be used against other moves as well. It's an example of using an offensive attack for defensive purposes." Brock told her.

"Wow," May replied, in awe.

"Gliscor, use fire fang!" Ash commanded.

"Scor!" Gliscor shouted as its mouth became covered in flames and it bit down on Mismagius. Mismagius then became surrounded by a red-orange fire as it suffered the effects of a burn.

"Mag!" Mismagius cried, in pain.

"Mismagius, use psywave!" Fantina called.

"Mis-mag!" Mismagius cried as its body became outlined in a light blue outline and it released blue rings of energy out of its body. As the psywave hit Gliscor, Gliscor was sent flying back into the wall.

"Oh no, Gliscor!" Ash yelled.

"Gli." Gliscor said as it managed to get back up into the air.

"Gliscor, are you okay?" Ash asked.

"Gli!" Gliscor replied as it lifted its arms into the air and sent Ash and open-mouth smile.

"Alright, use x-scissor!" Ash commanded.

"Gliscor!" Gliscor shouted as its claws began to glow light blue and it swiped them in an 'X' formation, firing an 'X' shaped light blue energy at the opponent.

"Mismagius, use dark pulse!" Fantina called.

"Mismagius!" Mismagius cried as the three gems on Mismagius' body glowed red and a ball of black and purple circles appeared in front of it. It then fired the circles as a beam towards Gliscor.

"Now, use magical leaf!" Fantina called.

"Magius!" Mismagius cried as it spun its body around and released glowing green leaves from its body at the opponent. The magical leaf fused with the dark pulse, forming black and purple leaves with a green outline, which travelled toward x-scissor at a fast rate.

"Fantina's using a combination move." Max pointed out.

"That's because Fantina's also a coordinator. She uses both her experiences as a gym leader and a coordinator to help her in battle." Dawn told him.

"Cool." Max replied. The two moves collided causing an explosion that made smoke spread out across the battlefield. Once the smoke cleared, Gliscor couldn't be seen.

"Mag?" Mismagius cried, confused.

"Gliscor, giga impact!" Ash commanded.

"Gli-scor!" Gliscor shouted as it flew towards Mismagius from above. Its body became surrounded by yellow-orange streaks and then it became surrounded by a purple aura as it homed in on Mismagius.

"Mismagius, dodge it!" Fantina called, desperately. However, Gliscor was too quick and before Mismagius had the chance, it slammed it into the ground. Mismagius was on the ground, knocked out, with swirls in its eyes.

"Mismagius is unable to battle. Gliscor wins!" The referee announced.

"Alright!" Ash cheered.

"Wow, what a great battle." Misty commented.

"Yeah, Gliscor's giga impact was just awesome!" Max exclaimed.

"Merci, Mismagius. Good work." Fantina said, returning Mismagius to its pokeball.

"Well, you definitely caught me off guard there, Ash." Fantina said.

"My pokemon have gotten a lot stronger than the last time you saw us, Fantina." Ash replied.

"Maybe so, but they will not be strong enough to beat my next pokemon. Drifblim, battle position!" Fantina called. A purple balloon pokemon appeared from the pokeball. It had a big yellow cross in the centre of its body and two small red eyes above the cross.

"Drifblim, huh? Gliscor, why don't you take a rest?" Ash said, returning Gliscor. "Pikachu, I choose you!" Ash commanded.

"Pika!" Pikachu yelled as it ran onto the battlefield.

"Drifblim, use will-o-wisp!" Fantina called.

"Drif!" Drifblim cried as its body became surrounded by light blue fireballs and it launched the fireballs at Pikachu.

"Pikachu, knock them back with iron tail!" Ash commanded.

"Pika!" Pikachu yelled as its tail began to glow white and it sent the fireballs flying back towards Drifblim.

"Dodge it, Drifblim!" Fantina called. Drifblim did a somersault in the air and floated over the fireballs as they hit the wall behind it. "Drifblim, ominous wind!" Fantina called.

"Blim!" Drifblim cried as it waved its arms and released a purple wind across the battlefield.

"Stay strong, Pikachu!" Ash encouraged.

"Piiiiiii." Pikachu muttered as it withstood the force of the ominous wind, but was slowly being pushed back.

"Pikachu, use thunderbolt!" Ash commanded.

"Pika-chu!" Pikachu yelled as it managed to release a strong jolt of electricity and aimed it at Drifblim.

"Dri!" Drifblim cried as it was shocked by Pikachu's thunderbolt.

"Hang on, Drifblim, and use will-o-wisp!" Fantina called.

"Drif!" Drifblim cried as its body became surrounded by light blue fireballs and it launched them at Pikachu.

"Pikachu, use electro ball!" Ash commanded.

"Pi-ka!" Pikachu yelled as its tail sparked and a ball of electricity formed. It did a front flip as it threw the orb at Drifblim. The two attacks collided, creating a mass spread of smoke across the battlefield.

"Ah, I can't see a thing." Ash said.

"You're not the only one who can use smoke to their advantage, Ash." Fantina told him.

"Huh?" Ash replied, confused. The smoke cleared to reveal Drifblim holding onto Pikachu's cheeks with its two arms. "Uh oh!" Ash cried.

"Drifblim, use hypnosis!" Fantina called.

"Blim!" Drifblim cried as Pikachu's body became outlined in blue. Drifblim fired a yellow 'X' at Pikachu from the 'X' on its body, causing Pikachu to fall asleep.

"No, Pikachu, get up!" Ash cried. Pikachu was fast asleep and didn't hear Ash.

"Psychic, Drifblim!" Fantina called.

"Drifblim!" Drifblim cried as its eyes glowed light blue and Pikachu became outlined in light blue once again. It threw Pikachu upwards and Pikachu smashed into the ceiling before falling back to the ground.

"Pikachu!" Ash cried.

"Pi…" Pikachu trailed off as it struggled to get up. "Pika!" Pikachu cried as it got up and stood tall.

"Pikachu, come back for now." Ash commanded. Pikachu nodded at Ash and ran back to him.

"Why switch out Pikachu now when Drifblim is just as tired?" May asked.

"Well, Ash probably wants to save Pikachu in case he needs it for the last battle." Brock told her. May nodded in understanding before turning her attention back to the battle.

"Noctowl, I choose you!" Ash commanded. Noctowl appeared from its pokeball and got ready to battle.

"Ooh la la, a Noctowl! It is not every day you see a pokemon from the Johto region." Fantina commented.

"Noctowl, use sky attack!" Ash commanded.

"Noc!" Noctowl shouted as its eyebrow tufts began to glow white and it flew into the air as it prepared to attack. Then, its body became surrounded by a white aura as it flew towards Drifblim.

"Drifblim, catch Noctowl!" Fantina called. Drifblim spread out is arms as it got ready to take on Noctowl's attack. Noctowl hit Drifblim, but Drifblim didn't seem to take that much damage and it was able to withstand the attack as it grabbed a hold of Noctowl.

"Aaah!" Ash cried.

"No way! How did Drifblim do that!?" Kenny asked.

"Well, Fantina's pokemon are very well trained." Dawn pointed out.

"Drifblim, use hypnosis!" Fantina called.

"Oh no, not again. I can't look!" Max cried as he covered his eyes. Misty looked over at Ash and saw him smirking.

'What's he up to?' Misty thought.

"Blim!" Drifblim cried as Noctowl's body became outlined in blue. Drifblim fired a yellow 'X' at Noctowl from the 'X' on its body. However, it had no effect.

"What!?" Fantina cried.

"Of course!" Brock yelled, coming to a sudden realisation.

"What is it, Brock?" May asked.

"Noctowl's special ability is insomnia which prevents it from falling asleep." Brock told them.

"Which is why Ash got Professor Oak to send Noctowl over for his battle with Fantina." Kenny concluded.

"That's right. Noctowl, use extrasensory!" Ash commanded.

"Noctowl!" Noctowl shouted as its eyes glowed gold and it opened its beak, releasing a multi-coloured beam, with white crescents around it, at Drifblim. The beam surrounded Drifblim and Noctowl lifted it into the air as it threw Drifblim back into the wall. Drifblim fainted from the force of the attack and had swirls in its eyes.

"Drifblim is unable to battle. Noctowl wins!" The referee announced.

"No, dear Drifblim!" Fantina cried.

"Yeah! That's two wins for Ash!" Max exclaimed.

"True, but I don't think Fantina's going to go down without a fight." May said.

"You battled well. Merci, Drifblim." Fantina thanked her pokemon as she returned it to its pokeball. "Your Noctowl is an extraordinary pokemon, Ash. A good strategy to defend against hypnosis." Fantina complimented.

"Thanks, Fantina." Ash replied.

"Now, it's time for my last pokemon. Gengar, battle position!" Fantina called. A dark purple roundish pokemon appeared from its pokeball. It had two red eyes and a wide mouth curled into a sinister grin.

"Noctowl, use air slash!" Ash commanded.

"Noc!" Noctowl called, as it raised its wings above its head. A spiralling light blue orb of energy formed in between its wings and it threw it towards Gengar. As it headed towards Gengar the ball became surrounded by a light blue aura.

"Gengar, counter it with shadow punch!" Fantina called.

"Gen!" Gengar hissed as it raised its arm and purple sparks started to travel up its arm and appear around its fist. Gengar punched the air and sent a black fist, with purple static electricity around it, flying towards Noctowl. The shadow punch broke through the air slash and struck Noctowl in the stomach, knocking it backwards.

"Gengar, use night shade!" Fantina called.

"Gar!" Gengar hissed as it fired a black beam outlined in blue, from its eyes, towards Noctowl.

"Noctowl, dodge and use confusion!" Ash commanded.

"Noctowl!" Noctowl shouted as its eyebrow tufts began to glow blue and it released a blue light towards Gengar.

"Now, throw it to the ground!" Ash commanded.

"Towl!" Noctowl shouted as it controlled Gengar with its mind and slammed it into the ground.

"Gengar!" Fantina cried.

"Noctowl, finish it with sky attack!" Ash commanded.

"Noc!" Noctowl shouted as its eyebrow tufts began to glow and it flew into the air as it prepared to attack. Then, its body became surrounded by a white aura as it flew towards Gengar.

"Gengar, use night shade!" Fantina called.

"Gar!" Gengar hissed as it fired a black beam outlined in blue, from its eyes, towards Noctowl. It hit Noctowl and prevented it from using sky attack.

"Shadow punch!" Fantina called.

"Gen!" Gengar hissed as it launched a black fist, with purple static electricity around it, at Noctowl. Noctowl was knocked out of the air and it bounced along the ground, coming to a stop in front of Ash, with swirls in its eyes.

"Noctowl is unable to battle. Gengar wins!" The referee announced.

"Thanks, Noctowl. You were great. Return." Ash told Noctowl, returning it to its pokeball.

"Aww, and they were so close too." Dawn said, sadly.

"Don't worry, Ash will still do it." Misty told her.

"Pikachu, ready to go?" Ash asked.

"Pika!" 'Yes!' Pikachu cried.

"Alright, Pikachu, I choose you!" Ash commanded. Pikachu ran back to its place on the battlefield.

"Gengar, use hypnosis!" Fantina called.

"Gengar!" Gengar hissed as its eyes began to glow red. It held out is hands and red orbs appeared at the end of them. The two orbs were brought together to form one big red orb in front of Gengar. Gengar then fired red beams from the orb towards Pikachu.

"Pikachu, use quick attack to dodge!" Ash commanded.

"Pika!" Pikachu yelled as it ran at a fast speed, leaving a white trail behind it, and dodged the hypnosis attack.

"Gengar, use night shade!" Fantina called.

"Gar!" Gengar hissed as it fired a black beam outlined in blue, from its eyes, towards Pikachu.

"Pikachu, use thunderbolt!" Ash commanded.

"Pika-chu!" Pikachu yelled as it released a bolt of electricity and hit the night shade head on. Thunderbolt overpowered night shade and shocked Gengar.

"Gen-gar!" Gengar cried as the thunderbolt dealt it quite a bit of damage.

"Pikachu, jump up into the air!" Ash commanded. Pikachu sprung off the ground, using its tail, and ended up above Gengar.

"Shadow punch, Gengar!" Fantina called.

"I thought so." Ash said.

"Huh?" Fantina replied, confused.

"Gen!" Gengar hissed as it launched a black fist, with purple static electricity around it, at Pikachu.

"Pikachu, use iron tail!" Ash commanded.

"Pika!" Pikachu yelled as its tail began to glow white while it somersaulted all the way down. The iron tail broke through the shadow punch and struck Gengar on the head, smashing it into the ground. Gengar fainted from the attack and had swirls in its eyes.

"Gengar is unable to battle. Pikachu wins! Which means the victor is Ash from Pallet Town!" the referee declared.

"We did it!" Ash cheered as Pikachu ran over to him.

"Noooooo!" Fantina cried. "Merci, Gengar. You were wonderful." Fantina said as Gengar returned to its pokeball.

* * *

Outside the gym, Fantina had the relic badge ready to present to Ash. Ash had Pikachu, Gliscor and Noctowl out of their pokeballs.

"My, my, Ash. It seems you have beaten me once again. It is only fair that I present you with this. The relic badge." Fantina told Ash.

"Wow, thank you so much, Fantina. Ash responded. "Alright! I got, the relic badge!" Ash cheered.

"Pi Pikachu!" Pikachu cried.

"Gliscor!" Gliscor yelled.

"Noctowl!" Noctowl shouted.

"So, Ash, have you decided where you are going to go next?" Fantina asked.

"Well, seeing as I just had my gym battle, we'll be heading to the next town that's holding a contest." Ash told her.

"In that case, I suggest you head to Solaceon Town. They are holding a pokemon contest there, very soon." Fantina informed. "But, don't forget, the Hearthome tag battle competition will be starting in a month, so make sure you come back." Fantina added.

"We will. Thank you, Fantina." Dawn replied.

"Au revoir, mes amis!" Fantina called as she waved goodbye to everyone. They all waved at her before heading back to the pokemon center.

* * *

When they all got back to the pokemon center, everyone decided to go out for a meal to celebrate Ash's win. They decided to go to a noodle shop because May was feeling a bit down and they wanted to cheer her up.

"So, May, I think I might enter that contest. What about you?" Dawn asked.

"I don't think so. I just don't think I'm cut out for contests anymore," May admitted, sadly.

"What are you talking about!? May, you're a great coordinator! You're the 'Princess of Hoenn' for God's sake!" Dawn yelled, annoyed.

"I guess. I'm going to go for a walk." May told them as she left the noodle place and went outside.

"It wasn't my fault, was it? I didn't mean to shout, it's just I don't know how to help her," Dawn said, frustrated.

"Don't worry, Dawn. May knows that. She just needs some space, that's all," Kenny reassured her, patting her hand.

"I hope you're right." Dawn replied.

* * *

May walked through the city, but she felt a bit lonely, so she decided to release Beautifly.

"Hi, Beautifly." May greeted, sadly.

"Beau?" 'What's wrong?' Beautifly asked.

"I don't see the point in being a coordinator anymore, Beautifly. The reason I fell in love with coordinating in the first place is because I loved the way coordinators brought out the beauty of their pokemon in new and unique ways, but what made me want to strive to do my best was Drew. Whether it be in the form of an insult or advice, he would always be there by my side when I needed him. I miss him, Beautifly." May admitted, tears brimming at her eyes.

"Beau Beautifly." 'I miss Masquerain too.' Beautifly confessed giving May a hug. Beautifly perched itself on May's head and the two continued to have their own conversation as they walked the streets of Hearthome City.

* * *

Once the others finished eating, they decided to the return to the pokemon center. Just as they were about to go inside, Max spotted May sitting on a bench with Beautifly and he pointed it out to everyone.

"Let me go talk to her." Ash said. The others agreed and went inside the pokemon center as Ash walked over to May.

"Hi May." Ash said, bringing May out of her thoughts.

"Oh, hi Ash." May replied.

"Mind if I sit down?" Ash asked. May shook her head and moved up so that Ash could sit down.

"You know, there was a time when I almost gave up on my dream of becoming a pokemon master." Ash admitted.

"Really?" May replied, shocked.

"Yep. You see, when Brock, Dawn and I travelled through the Sinnoh region before, I met a guy named Paul. We both had totally different battle styles and he ended up becoming my fiercest rival." Ash told her. "Paul and I would battle whenever we met, but he would always somehow manage to beat me. We met Paul's brother, Reggie, when we travelled to Veilstone City, so that I could get my next gym badge. He found the differences in our battling and personalities to be interesting, so he suggested that we have a full 6-on-6 battle in preparation for the Sinnoh League. I was so pumped and ready for the battle. I knew for sure that this time I was going to beat him." Ash said.

"What happened?" May inquired.

"I lost. Badly. All my pokemon ended up in the emergency care unit at the pokemon center and I couldn't handle seeing all of them like that. I took some time out to think about the battle, but I couldn't work out what went wrong or why I kept losing and ended up getting depressed about it." Ash confessed.

"What did you do?" May asked.

"Well, my pokemon were worried about me, so they came out to check on me. Even with all their injuries, they still got straight back up and looked even more determined to win the next time we battled Paul. That's when I realised that I couldn't give up on my dream because it wasn't just my dream, it was my pokemon's too. Up until the Sinnoh League, my pokemon and I trained hard, day after day, and when we went up against Paul in the quarter-finals of the Sinnoh League, we finally beat him." Ash told her.

"My pokemon's dream..." May whispered as she looked over at Beautifly.

"Beautifly!" Beautifly cried, determined. May's expression changed from one of confusion to one of determination as she nodded at Beautifly.

"You're right, Ash. I can't give up on my dreams now. I will become a top coordinator and I'll do it for my pokemon!" May exclaimed, psyched, as she stood up.

"That's the spirit!" Ash encouraged, as he got up from the bench.

"Thanks, Ash. I really needed to hear that." May replied, gratefully.

"Anytime, May." Ash responded. The two smiled at each other and headed back inside the pokemon center. As soon as May entered through the doors, Dawn rushed up to her.

"I'm sorry if I upset you, May. I didn't mean to yell." Dawn apologised.

"It's okay, Dawn. I know you meant well." May replied, giving Dawn a hug. As the two separated, they saw Marian on the TV screen.

"A mysterious new coordinator has come onto the scene and just won his first ribbon. He goes by the name 'Shadow Mask' and he keeps his identity a secret. Who is this coordinator in disguise?" Marian asked as she showed a picture of the coordinator. The coordinator was a guy of average height. He was wearing a white long sleeved button-up shirt with a black buttoned-up vest and black suit trousers with black shoes. On top of his clothes, he wore a grape coloured cape with white gloves on his hands. On his head, was a black top hat which was tilted to the left, to hide his left eye and on the right side of his face was half of a violet coloured mask.

"He looks really creepy. You can only see one side of his mouth and one eye." Dawn said, shuddering, as she took in the coordinator's appearance. However, May was focused on the one piercing, emerald green eye that could be seen.

'Could it be?' May thought.

* * *

_**Hope you enjoyed it! The next chapter will be about the contest and will focus on May. Please R&amp;R!**_

_**xBandanaRosesx**_


	8. Chapter 7 - A Contest of Shadows

**_Hi guys! This chapter will be about May and the Solaceon contest. Enjoy!_**

**_Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon or any of the characters_**

* * *

**Chapter 7 – A Contest of Shadows**

* * *

The next day, the gang set off for Solaceon Town, so that May and the others could enter the contest.

"Dawn, which pokemon are you going to use for the contest?" May asked.

"I'm going to sit this one out, but you can bet that I'll enter the next one." Dawn replied.

"Oh, okay. What about you, Kenny?" May inquired.

"I'm going to enter the next one as well, but rest assured, we'll be cheering for you." Kenny told her.

"Oh, alright." May responded. Dawn looked over at Kenny and he nodded at her. Dawn smiled at him in response. The two of them had talked, last night, about entering the contest.

**_Flashback_**

Dawn and Kenny were chatting together in the pokemon center lobby.

"I can't wait to enter the Solaceon contest. It's going to be great!" Dawn exclaimed.

"Dee Dee, I think we should sit this one out." Kenny replied.

"First of all, the name is Dawn!" Dawn shouted, making Kenny chuckle. "Second of all, why?" Dawn asked.

"Well, Ash only just managed to convince May not to give up on coordinating, right?" Kenny said. Dawn nodded in response. "Now, I'm not saying that we should do this all the time, but I think that the best thing that we can do, right now, is to cheer for her, so that we can get her confidence back up. Once we know that May is her usual, determined self, we can enter contests again." Kenny explained. "I just don't want her to feel bad if she loses to one of us because we all travel together and it can be hard to travel with your competition, you know?" Kenny finished.

"I understand." Dawn responded. "Aww, Kenny, you're so sweet for caring about one of my best friends. Thank you." Dawn commented as she gave Kenny a peck on the cheek, making him blush red.

"So, how long do you think it will be until we enter contests again?" Dawn asked.

"Well, if I know May, I should think that we'll only have to sit out this contest. She'll be back to normal in no time," Kenny reassured. Dawn smiled at him and the two continued their conversation until late into the night.

**_End Flashback_**

"What do you guys want to do when we get there?" Brock asked.

"Well, I want to get some training in for that tag battle competition. I haven't done much battling and I'm just itching to enter." Misty said.

"I want to enter too. Do you want to train together Misty?" Max asked.

"Sure, Max." Misty replied, smiling.

"How about you, Ash?" Brock asked.

"Pikachu and I are going to do some special training with the others to get ready for my next gym battle. Right, buddy?" Ash said.

"Pika!" Pikachu replied.

"Hey, Ash. Want me to be your battle partner?" Kenny questioned.

"That'd be great, Kenny. Thanks," Ash responded, gratefully.

"May, what are you going to do?" Brock asked.

"I don't know. I could work on my appeal, but then I also need some battle practice." May said.

"Oh no you don't. You have a week until the contest, May. The first thing we're doing is going to get you a new outfit seeing as _someone_ ripped up their last one." Dawn told her, giving her a half-glare.

"Oh yeah. Sorry about that," May apologised, grinning sheepishly.

"Anyway, you haven't told us what you're going to be doing, Brock." Misty said.

"I'm going to head to the pokemon center to see if the lovely, beautiful, gorgeous Nurse Joy…" Brock trailed off as his eyes turned to hearts and he started daydreaming. Misty and Max purposely coughed, loudly, bringing Brock out of his reverie. They crossed their arms and looked at Brock with reprimanding eyes.

"I-I mean, I'm going to the pokemon center to see if Nurse Joy needs any help with the pokemon!" Brock said, quickly, hoping he would not get his ear pulled or be jabbed in the back. The others laughed at their older friend before they continued on their way.

* * *

Upon arriving in Solaceon Town, the group all told each other where they were heading and what time they would all meet back there.

"Alright, it's 2pm now, so we all meet back here at 6pm?" Brock suggested. Everyone nodded their heads in agreement.

"Well, we better get go- Aaaah!" May started, but was cut off as Dawn dragged her away.

"C'mon, May! Let's you go find you some killer outfits!" Dawn cried as she had a tight grip on May's wrist and pulled her towards the direction of the mall. Everyone sweat dropped at Dawn's behaviour.

"Well, Nurse Joy awaits. Bye!" Brock said, quickly, as he ran towards the pokemon center. Ash and Kenny laughed while Misty and Max both gave disapproving looks while shaking their heads.

"Let's go you guys." Misty said as the three boys followed.

* * *

The four of them kept walking until they stopped at a clearing in the forest.

"Alright, how about we go first and then you guys battle after?" Ash suggested.

"Sounds good to me." Misty said.

"I'll be the referee." Max told them. Ash and Kenny stood opposite each other as they prepared to battle.

"This will be a one on one pokemon battle. The battle will be over when one side's pokemon is unable to battle. Begin!" Max announced.

"Frogadier, I choose you!" Ash commanded. A dark blue frog pokemon with a white bubble scarf appeared from its pokeball.

"Empoleon, hit it!" Kenny ordered. A large, navy blue penguin pokemon with a trident shaped crown atop its head came out of its pokeball.

"Alright, a water type battle!" Misty cheered.

"Frogadier, use water pulse!" Ash commanded.

"Frog!" Frogadier shouted as it formed a blue sphere of energy in its hands before throwing it at Empoleon.

"Empoleon, use metal claw!" Kenny ordered.

"Empo!" Empoleon roared as the blue parts on the rims of its wings began to glow white and it slashed the water pulse, creating a shower of sparkles.

"Wow, power and beauty. Just like a coordinator." Misty commented.

"Frogadier, use aerial ace!" Ash commanded.

"Froga-dier!" Frogadier shouted as its arms turned into long blue knives and it ran towards Empoleon.

"Empoleon, use flash cannon!" Kenny ordered.

"Poleon!" Empoleon roared as it held out its wings and a silver ball of energy formed in between them. The ball then turned into a silver beam and Empoleon fired it at Frogadier.

"Frogadier, double team!" Ash commanded.

"Frog!" Frogadier shouted as its body began to glow white and it made multiple copies of itself running towards Empoleon.

"Keep an eye out, Empoleon." Kenny told it. The Frogadier copies all jumped into the air before they all formed back into one.

"Behind you!" Kenny cried. Empoleon turned around as Frogadier descended upon it and slashed it repeatedly.

"Empoleon!" Empoleon cried out in pain.

"Oh no, Empoleon!" Kenny cried.

"Ash's pokemon never fail to surprise me." Misty commented.

"Quick, use hydro cannon!" Kenny ordered.

"Empo!" Empoleon roared as it opened its beak and a blue flash of light appeared in front of it. Then a glowing light blue ball of water appeared and Empoleon launched it at Frogadier.

"Frog!" Frogadier cried as the hydro cannon hit it and knocked it back into a tree.

"Ah, Frogadier!" Ash cried. Frogadier slowly stood back up. "Are you okay?" Ash asked.

"Adier!" Frogadier shouted, determined.

"Alright, finish this up with cut!" Ash commanded.

"Dier!" Frogadier shouted as a white needle formed on its right hand and it leapt forward to strike Empoleon.

"Empoleon, use drill peck!" Kenny ordered.

"Em-poleon!" Empoleon roared as its beak and crown began to glow white and it spun like a drill as it charged towards Frogadier. The two attacks made contact with the opposing pokemon and both pokemon stood on opposite sides of the battlefield, facing away from each other, as they waited for the other to fall first.

"You can do it, Frogadier!" Ash cheered.

"Hang in there, Empoleon!" Kenny encouraged. The two pokemon stood strong, but it was Empoleon who fell first.

"No, Empoleon!" Kenny cried.

"Empoleon is unable to battle. Frogadier wins. Which means the victor is Ash!" Max declared.

"Way to go, Frogadier!" Ash praised. "Return." Ash said as he returned his pokemon to its pokeball. Kenny walked over to Empoleon and patted it on the back.

"Thanks, Empoleon. Return," Kenny thanked his pokemon as he returned it to its pokeball. "Well done, Ash," Kenny congratulated.

"Hey, thanks." Ash replied.

"Alright, I get to battle!" Misty cheered as she and Max stood opposite each other.

"I'll be the referee." Kenny told them.

'I wonder which pokemon Misty will use." Ash thought.

"This will be a one on one pokemon battle. The battle will be over when one side's pokemon is unable to battle. Begin!" Kenny announced.

"Staryu, it's up to you!" Misty called. A golden-brown sea star pokemon, with a red jewel in the center of its body, appeared from its pokeball.

'Staryu, huh?' Ash thought.

"Ralts, come on out!" Max instructed. A white bipedal pokemon, with a bowl cut hairstyle and two large horns on its head, appeared from its pokeball.

"Alright, I finally get to see Ralts in a battle!" Ash exclaimed.

"Staryu, use bubble beam!" Misty called.

"Star!" Staryu yelled as the jewel in the middle of its body began to glow orange and it released a barrage of orange bubbles at Ralts.

"Ralts, use safeguard!" Max instructed.

"Ral!" Ralts cried as its body began to glow green and a green barrier appeared around it, blocking out the bubble beam.

"Staryu, use rapid spin!" Misty called.

"Yu!" Staryu yelled as it spun it like a saw blade towards Ralts. It attacked the safeguard multiple times until it finally broke through and hit Ralts, sending it backwards.

"Staryu, use water gun!" Misty called.

"Star!" Staryu yelled as it launched a spiral of water at Ralts from the tip of its top-most limb.

"Ralts, teleport!" Max instructed. Ralts' body began to glow multi-coloured and became outlined in blue before it disappeared, avoiding Staryu's attack.

"Stay on your guard, Staryu." Misty told her pokemon.

"Ralts, use psychic!" Max instructed.

"Ralts!" Ralts cried as it reappeared behind Staryu. Its eyes glowed blue and it fired two light blue beams of energy at Staryu's back.

"Staryu, dodge and use swift!" Misty called.

"Star-yu!" Staryu yelled as it jumped up and dodged the psychic attack. It then turned around and fired multiple white stars at Ralts from the gem in the center of its body, knocking Ralts to the ground.

"Oh no, Ralts!" Max cried. Suddenly, Ralts' body began to glow white.

"Huh, what's going on?" Max asked.

"Ralts is beginning to evolve, Max." Ash told him. Ralts' arms and legs began to extend and its hair began to grow until shoulder length. Once it finished evolving, it stood, with its eyes closed, and its arms folded in front of it while standing on its tiptoes, just like a ballerina.

"Kir!" Kirlia cried as it opened its eyes for the first time since evolving.

"Awesome! You evolved into Kirlia!" Max exclaimed. "Alright, Kirlia, let's show them some of your new strength!" Max instructed.

"Kir-lia!" Kirlia cried as it raised its hands above its head, then brought them forwards as it released multiple glowing light green leaves at Staryu, sending it flying backwards.

"What power…" Ash trailed off, in awe.

"Cool, you learnt magical leaf! Way to go!" Max cheered.

"Staryu, use water gun!" Misty called.

"Star!" Staryu yelled as it launched a spiral of water at Kirlia from the tip of its top-most limb.

"Kirlia, teleport!" Max instructed. Kirlia's body began to glow multi-coloured as it became outlined in blue before disappearing, avoiding Staryu's attack. "Kirlia, finish this with psychic!" Max instructed.

"Kirlia!" Kirlia cried as it appeared above Staryu. Its eyes glowed blue and it crossed its arms. When Kirlia opened its eyes, it fired two light blue waves of energy at Staryu, slamming it into the ground.

"Staryu!" Misty cried. Staryu was on the floor, the light of the red jewel blinking, indicating it was out for the count.

"Staryu is unable to battle. Kirlia wins. Which means the victor is Max!" Kenny declared.

"Yeah!" Max cheered as Kirlia jumped into his arms.

"You battled really hard, Staryu. Thank you." Misty said as she returned her pokemon to its pokeball. Max returned his pokemon too and walked over to Misty.

"Good battle, Misty." Max said, holding out his hand.

"Agreed." Misty replied, shaking Max's hand.

"That was a great battle guys, but can we get something to eat now. I'm hungry." Ash whined.

*whack*

"Ow! What was that for?" Ash complained.

"Don't you ever think about anything other than food?" Misty asked, glaring slightly. Ash was about to respond, but was cut off by the sound of his rumbling stomach. Ash grinned sheepishly as he clutched his stomach while Misty shook her head at him and Kenny and Max laughed before they all headed off to get some lunch.

* * *

Meanwhile, Brock raced over to the pokemon center in hopes of seeing Nurse Joy, as well as helping all the sick pokemon, of course. He rushed inside and stopped right in front of Nurse Joy.

"My dear, Nur-" Brock started, but was cut off by Nurse Joy as she turned around to face him.

"Oh my, you're Brock, aren't you?" Nurse Joy asked.

"Aaah! You know my name?" Brock questioned, happily.

"Of course! You're one of the best pokemon doctors around. It's such an honour to meet you." Nurse Joy greeted.

"Wow!" Brock exclaimed. "And might I just say-" Brock said, but stopped short as he spotted Croagunk standing behind him, getting a poison jab ready. "Uh, I would like to help you out here in any way I can." Brock finished.

"Really? Well, this must be my lucky day! Of course you can help." Nurse Joy replied. Suddenly, a young girl ran in with a sick starly.

"Please, Nurse Joy. Help my pokemon." The girl pleaded.

"What happened?" Nurse Joy asked.

"We were in a battle with a trainer who had a skorupi and my starly was poisoned by its poison sting." The girl explained.

"I'm a pokemon doctor. Please, let me see." Brock said. The girl handed her starly to Brock and he placed his hand on its forehead.

"Starly's running a fever. Nurse Joy, do you have somewhere where I can treat this pokemon?" Brock asked.

"Of course. Right this way." Nurse Joy replied as she led Brock to an empty room down the corridor. Brock looked back and saw the look of worry on the trainer's face.

"Don't worry, Starly's in good hands," Brock reassured. Brock entered the room and laid Starly down on the bed. "Nurse Joy, please could you fetch me some Pecha berries and some Oran berries," Brock instructed.

"Yes, I'll be right back." Nurse Joy said. She returned with a couple of Pecha berries and Oran berries in a bowl.

"Perfect. Thank you." Brock thanked her. He took out his pestle and mortar, that he keeps in his bag for emergencies, and began crushing up the pecha berries. Once it was all mashed up, Brock took a spoon of the mixture and fed it to Starly. "Here you go, Starly." Brock said as he Starly ate the pecha berries.

"How is Starly Brock?" Nurse Joy inquired. Brock felt Starly's forehead to check.

"Its fever has broken which is a good sign." Brock told her. "Chansey, I need your help." Brock called as a pink ovoid pokemon, with a white egg in its pouch, appeared from its pokeball. "Chansey, please can you use soft-boiled on Starly." Brock instructed.

"Chansey," Chansey whispered as the egg in its pouch began to glow yellow and it raised its arms into the air. A yellow glow, in the shape of Chansey's egg, rose from its pouch into the air and floated over Starly as it melted into its body. Starly's body became outlined in yellow as it regained some of its strength.

"Chansey, do you want feed Starly the Oran berries?" Brock asked.

"Chansey!" Chansey cried, happily. Brock gave the pestle and mortar to Chansey and it crushed up the Oran berries before feeding it to Starly.

"Good. Thank you, Chansey. Return." Brock thanked his pokemon as he returned it to its pokeball. "Starly should be fine after some rest." Brock told Nurse Joy.

"Wow, I can't believe I got to see you work in person," Nurse Joy said, in awe.

"Oh it was nothing." Brock replied.

"Don't be modest. You didn't panic one bit and knew what to do straight away. I can see why you're one of the best pokemon doctors." Nurse Joy praised. Brock blushed and turned to Nurse Joy as he took her hands in his.

"Wow! Getting praise from you Nurse Joy is like a dream come true- AARGH!" Brock cried out in pain as Croagunk jabbed him in the side. "But why do my dreams always end this way…" Brock trailed off as he fell to the ground and Croagunk dragged him away, leaving Nurse Joy to look on, in shock.

* * *

May and Dawn had been through almost the entire clothes department of the mall trying to find May some contest dresses.

"Dawn, it's just a contest dress. I'm sure anything will be fine." May said.

"Anything!? Oh no, May. We need the absolute best dresses there are. You'll look so gorgeous that Drew will regret ever leaving." Dawn replied, but stopped after realizing what she just said. She turned around and saw May looking down with a sad expression on her face.

"Oh, May. I'm sorry, I didn't mean-" Dawn said, but was cut off by May.

"No, it's okay, Dawn. You're right. Drew's gone and I just have to accept that." May responded, looking back at up at Dawn with a small smile.

"Are you sure you'll be alright?" Dawn asked. May nodded her head in response. Dawn smiled at her and gave May a tight hug. May hugged her back tightly before pulling away.

"Alright, show me the dress you've picked out then." May told her.

"Right, so there's this one, this one and this one." Dawn replied as she threw three dresses towards May.

"Uh, are you sure, Dawn?" May asked, thinking it was too much.

"Yes, now go change, May!" Dawn cried as she shooed May into the changing room. A few minutes later, May came out and posed like a model. She was wearing a baby blue one shoulder dress that went to mid-thigh. Her right arm and shoulder were covered by the long sleeve and her left shoulder and arm were left exposed. A light brown belt was tied around the waist and May wore light brown open-toe wedges with the dress.

"Wow, you look gorgeous, May!" Dawn exclaimed.

"Really?" May asked.

"I know so. Go on, next dress." Dawn said as May went back into the changing room. Soon after, May came out with an amber coloured sleeveless knee-length dress. It had a V-shape neckline and had a thin gold belt across the waist. May accompanied this with a pair of golden stilettos.

"Oh, you look so beautiful, May. Come on, do a twirl." Dawn told her. May giggled and twirled around in her dress.

"You think so?" May asked.

"Oh yeah. Okay, time for the last one." Dawn said as May went back in one final time. This time, May was dressed in a long sleeved emerald green bodycon dress that ended just below her bottom. It had a round neckline and it was tight enough to show off her curves in all the right places. She wore a pair of black ankle boots along with her outfit.

"Now, that's what I call sexy." Dawn said as she made a tiger sound, making May blush.

"You don't think it's a bit too much?" May asked, embarrassed.

"Oh come on, you're the "Princess of Hoenn". Of course you're allowed to be stylish." Dawn told her. "I know, you should definitely wear that outfit for the Wallace Cup." Dawn suggested. "Show all those regions that you have skill and sex appeal." Dawn added with a wink, making May blush furiously.

"Dawn…" May whined.

"What?" Dawn asked, innocently. "Now, your look is almost done. It just needs a little something." Dawn said, looking around. May spotted something and picked it up.

"How about this?" May questioned, picking up a black fedora and putting it on her head. Dawn walked over to her and tilted the hat to the left, slightly.

"Perfect!" Dawn cried. "Now, go and get changed and we'll buy these three outfits before going to get some ice cream, okay?" Dawn told her.

"Alright!" May cheered as she rushed back in to get changed. Dawn giggled at her best friend's childish behaviour as she waited for her to come out.

* * *

After everyone had finished their tasks, they headed to the pokemon center to have dinner.

"Hey May, which pokemon are you going to use in the contest tomorrow?" Ash asked.

"Well, Beautifly and I have been working really hard on an appeal, so I'll be using Beautifly for the appeal round and I think I'll use Wartortle for the battle round." May informed. "I'm going to go and do some training now, so I'll be back later, okay?" May told everyone as she got up from her chair.

"That sounds like a good idea. I need to practice my appeals as well. I'll come with you." Dawn said.

"Actually Dawn, I'd like to practice alone, if that's okay with you. I find it helps me to concentrate better. Plus, I want to keep my appeal a surprise until tomorrow, okay?" May replied.

"Oh sure, that's fine. I'll just practice somewhere else." Dawn responded. "Where are you going to train?" Dawn asked.

"Well, I'm going to go the park to train, so you could use the battlefield?" May suggested.

"Right." Dawn replied. May went to train in the park while Dawn headed off to the battlefield to practice her appeal. Misty went with Dawn and the boys went off to their room.

"So, Dawn, which pokemon are you going to use for your appeal?" Misty asked.

"Well, I haven't used Pachirisu for a while, so that's who I'm going to go with." Dawn told her. "Pachirisu, spotlight!" Dawn instructed. A small, white squirrel pokemon, with a blue stripe that goes all the way from its forehead to the tip of its tail, and yellow cheeks, appeared from its pokeball.

"Aww, it's so cute!" Misty cried. Pachirisu ran over to Misty and used discharge in excitement.

"AAAAGH!" Dawn and Misty screamed as they were shocked by Pachirisu's discharge. They both collapsed to the floor in a big heap. Misty's hair was sticking up in all directions and Dawn's hair was all spiked up and sparkling.

"Wow, Dawn, your hair looks like a diamond." Misty commented.

"Huh?" Dawn said as she grabbed her mirror. "AAAHHH!" Dawn screeched as she covered her hair with her hands. "No, not again." Dawn complained. "Quick, Piplup, spotlight!" Dawn instructed. The small blue penguin pokemon appeared from its pokeball. "Please, use bubble beam." Dawn requested.

"Pip Lup Lup Lup!" Piplup cried as it released a barrage of blue bubbles onto Dawn's hair. Dawn brushed through her hair until it was all pin straight. She grabbed her mirror and did a few poses to check.

"Perfect!" Dawn exclaimed.

"Wow, I never thought of doing that. Piplup, could you do my hair too, please?" Misty asked. Piplup nodded before complying.

"Pip Lup Lup Lup!" Piplup cried as it released a barrage of blue bubbles onto Misty's hair. Misty brushed her hair and put it back up into the side ponytail.

"Thanks, Piplup. Do you want to watch our appeal?" Dawn asked.

"Piplup!" 'Yeah!' Piplup cried.

"Alright, Pachirisu, use sweet kiss!" Dawn instructed.

"Chipa Chi!" Pachirisu yelled as it blew kisses, launching multiple pink hearts into the air.

"Now, use discharge!" Dawn instructed.

"Chi!" Pachirisu yelled as its cheeks started to release light blue sparks and it fired tons of light blue beams of electricity at the hearts. The pink hearts became electrified as they all glowed with a light blue electric outline.

"Finish it up with super fang!" Dawn instructed.

"Chipa!" Pachirisu yelled as its two front teeth began to glow white and they grew longer. It jumped up and bit into each of the electrified hearts causing blue and pink sparkles to rain down upon them. Dawn and Pachirisu and Dawn took a bow together, signalling the end of their performance.

"That was really beautiful, Dawn." Misty commented.

"Thanks, Misty. It's getting dark out. What do you say we head back inside?" Dawn suggested as her and Misty went back inside the pokemon center.

* * *

The next day, the gang headed over to the contest hall, so May could enter the pokemon contest.

"Do your best, May! We'll be rooting for you!" Dawn encouraged as she gave May a hug.

"Thanks, Dawn." May replied.

"You'll win for sure, May." Misty said giving May a hi-five.

"Well, we better get going guys." Brock said as they went to take their seats while May headed to the waiting room. Just then, Marian appeared on the stage.

"Hello everyone and welcome to the Solaceon contest! I'm your MC, Marian, and I'll be your host. The first round will be a single performance followed by a single battle in the second round and the winner of the contest will win the Solaceon ribbon" Marian explained as she held up a purple and white ribbon. "Here are our judges. Chief of the pokemon activities committee, Mr Contesta!" Marian announced.

"Wonderful to see all the coordinators." Mr Contesta replied.

"President of the pokemon fan club, Mr Sukizo!" Marian announced.

"Remarkable!" Mr Sukizo responded, loudly.

"And finally, Solaceon Town's, Nurse Joy!" Marian announced.

"I can't wait to see all the lovely pokemon." Nurse Joy commented.

"Okay, let's get the contest underway. First contestant, come on out!" Marian announced as the performances got underway. Many coordinators performed with different types of pokemon from Buizels to Magbys to Bellossom. Finally, it was May's turn to perform. May came out onto the stage, dressed in her orange contest outfit.

"Yeah, go May!" Dawn cheered.

"Pika!" Pikachu exclaimed, dressed in its cheering outfit.

"Bun Bun!" Buneary cried, dressed in its cheering outfit

"Beautifly, take the stage!" May commanded, spinning around on the spot. The black and yellow butterfly pokemon appeared from its pokeball with a star seal on it. Beautifly was released from a burst of blue stars. As it was released, its wings shimmered in the light. "Beautifly, use silver wind!" May commanded.

"Beautifly!" Beautifly cried as it released multiple, shiny crescents, into the air.

"Use psychic!" May commanded.

"Beau!" Beautifly cried as its eyes glowed blue and the silver wind became outlined in blue. It controlled the silver wind to make them form the shape of a heart.

"Now, use morning sun!" May commanded.

"Beau-tifly!" Beautifly cried as it began to glow white and rays of light shone out of its body, illuminating the heart.

"This is just like before." Dawn commented.

"What do you mean?" Kenny asked.

"Well, when May first found out about Drew leaving and she went on that whole rampage, she tried to distract herself by practicing her appeal." Dawn explained.

"It was really beautiful too." Misty added. "Just so long as she doesn't-" Misty said, but was cut off by May's next command.

"Aerial ace, Beautifly!" May commanded.

"Oh no…" Misty muttered.

"What's up, Mist?" Ash asked.

"Last time, May finished with aerial ace as well, but Beautifly flew straight through and the heart shattered in two." Misty told him. "I thought May had gotten over Drew," Misty sighed.

"Beau!" Beautifly cried as it flew into the air and did a flip. White streaks surrounded its body as it shot through the bottom right of the heart to the top left of the heart. Beautifly flew so fast, the trail left behind it formed the shape of an arrow before the heart and arrow burst into a shower of golden sparkles. Beautifly landed on May's head as May took a curtsy.

"Wow. That was simply gorgeous!" Marian commented. "What do you think judges?" Marian asked.

"The combination of attacks made for a beautiful performance." Mr Contesta replied.

"Remarkable!" Mr Sukizo exclaimed.

"I loved seeing the healthy shine of Beautifly's wings. It just goes to show how well May takes care of her pokemon." Nurse Joy responded. May waved to the crowd before exiting the stage. On the way out, May passed a shadowy figure that walked towards the stage.

"Huh?" May said as she looked back towards the stage before heading back to the waiting room. She stood in front of the screen as the next coordinator entered the stage.

"It's that shadow mask guy," May whispered.

"Butterfree, let's go!" Shadow Mask ordered. The purple and white butterfly pokemon appeared from its pokeball with a line seal on it. Butterfree was released from multiple black lines that spread out.

'A Butterfree? Drew has a Butterfree.' May thought. 'No, Drew's gone, May. You just have to accept that.' May told herself.

"Butterfree, use protect!" Shadow Mask ordered.

"Free!" Butterfree screeched as its body began to glow light green and a green sphere shaped force field appeared around it.

"Spin and use psybeam!" Shadow Mask ordered.

"Terfree!" Butterfree screeched as its eyes glowed purple and it span around releasing a multi-coloured beam. It stopped using protect and Butterfree was surrounded by a psybeam orb.

"Use confusion!" Shadow Mask ordered.

"Free!" Butterfree screeched as its eyes glowed light blue and the psybeam orb became outlined in blue. It controlled the psybeam to make it form a multi-coloured tornado above its head.

"Now, use gust!" Shadow Mask ordered.

"Butterfree!" Butterfree screeched as it flapped its wings and a huge gust of wind pushed the tornado upwards. As the psybeam attack made contact with the ceiling, it split up into a load of multi-coloured fireworks. Butterfree landed on the ground next to its trainer and Shadow Mask placed his right arm across his stomach as he and his pokemon took a bow.

"That performance was just mesmerising," Marian commented, awestruck. "Any thoughts, judges?" Marian questioned.

"The use of psychic attacks from the bug and flying pokemon was definitely an interesting strategy, but an effective one too." Mr Contesta replied.

"Yes and remarkable!" Mr Sukizo exclaimed.

"Butterfree is as healthy as can be. A sign that it is well looked after." Nurse Joy responded. Shadow Mask thanked the judges before walking off stage.

"Wow, that Shadow Mask coordinator is pretty good." Kenny commented.

"Yeah. His appeal was just gorgeous," Dawn breathed. However, May was far from impressed. The appeal given from the coordinator seemed all too familiar to her. She eyed Shadow Mask, carefully, upon re-entering the room.

* * *

The rest of the coordinators performed their appeals until it came to the end of the first round.

"Alright, folks, that's it for the performance round. The results for the second round battle stage will be in soon." Marian told the audience. May sat down on the bench as she waited for the results.

"Here, Beautifly. You did really well." May told her pokemon as she gave Beautifly one of her own home-made poffins that Dawn helped her to make.

"Beautifly!" Beautifly cried, happily. The others came in to the waiting room to congratulate May.

"Great job out there, May." Max congratulated.

"Thanks, Max." May replied.

"I have to tell you, May. You really worried me and Misty out there when you told Beautifly to use that aerial ace." Dawn admitted.

"Ah, you see, told you it would be a surprise." May said, giggling. "Beautifly and I did a lot of extra training to increase its speed." May said.

"And it definitely paid off." Brock responded.

"Okay, the results are in. And here are the lucky coordinators moving onto the next round." Marian announced. As the pictures appeared on the screen, the first picture belonged to Shadow Mask and the second belonged to May, followed by 6 other coordinators.

"Alright, May, you made it!" Misty and Dawn cheered as the three of them had a group hug.

"Thanks, you guys." May thanked them. She looked back at the pictures and when she saw Shadow Mask's picture before hers she looked over at him. May saw him smirk and narrowed her eyes at him in suspicion.

"Let's go and sit down. Good luck, May." Ash said as he patted her shoulder and they headed back to their seats.

"Oh wait, can you take Beautifly for me?" May asked.

"Sure." Dawn replied as Beautifly fluttered over and landed on her head. May smiled at them as they walked out. She turned her attention towards the screen as she watched the first battle.

* * *

Both May and Shadow Mask made it through their battles until they both ended up in the final battle.

"Look, guys. May's going up against that Shadow Mask guy." Max pointed out.

"I hope she does well." Misty said.

"Alright, it's time for our final battle. This battle will decide who wins the Solaceon ribbon. Five minutes on the clock and begin!" Marian announced.

"Wartortle, take the stage!" May commanded. An indigo-blue turtle pokemon, with bluish-white fur covering its ears and tail, appeared from its pokeball with a foamy seal on it. Wartortle was released from a blast of blue bubbles.

"Absol, let's go!" Shadow Mask ordered. A white fur covered mammalian pokemon, with a scythe-like tail and sickle-shaped horn on its head, appeared from its pokeball with a smoke seal on it. Absol was released from a cloud of black smoke.

"Wartortle, use rapid spin!" May commanded.

"Wartortle!" Wartortle shouted as it pulled all of its limbs into its shell and it spun like a disk towards Absol.

"Absol, use iron tail!" Shadow Mask ordered.

"Ab-sol!" Absol bellowed as its entire tail began to glow white and it struck Wartortle head on, sending it flying towards the ground. May lost 1/5 of her points.

"Wartortle, quick, get up!" May told her pokemon.

"Absol, use flash!" Shadow Mask ordered.

"Sol!" Absol bellowed as the black circle on Absol's forehead began to shine brightly, giving off a bright light.

"War!" Wartortle cried as it became blinded by the light. May shielded her eyes as the light blinded her as well. May lost ¼ of her points.

"Razor wind!" Shadow Mask ordered .

"Absol!" Absol bellowed as the scythe on its head began to glow white and it swung its head, sending out a white crescent blade of energy towards Wartortle.

"Ice beam!" May commanded.

"Tortle!" Wartortle shouted as a light blue ball formed in front of its mouth. It then fired a light blue beam at the razor wind. The two attacks collided, but the razor wind was stronger and struck Wartortle, pushing it backwards. May was down to ½ of her points.

'What do I do?' May thought as she gritted her teeth.

"C'mon May, you can beat him!" Dawn yelled.

"Beau Beautifly!" Beautifly cried. The encouragement from her friends and pokemon gave May a sudden burst of confidence.

"Absol, use water pulse!" Shadow Mask ordered.

"Sol!" Absol bellowed as its body became outlined in blue and it released a huge wave of water at Wartortle.

"Wartortle, use aqua tail!" May commanded.

"War!" Wartortle shouted as its tail began to glow light blue and it spun it around. As Wartortle turned around, a spiral of water began to spiral around its tail and it took control of the water pulse.

"What!?" Shadow Mask cried, confused.

"Go!" May commanded as Wartortle sent the water pulse spiralling back towards Absol. It hit Absol with twice as much power due to the added force of the aqua tail. Shadow Mask lost 1/3 of his points.

"We've reached the one minute mark. At this point it can be anyone's match." Marian commented.

"Absol, razor wind!" Shadow Mask ordered.

"Absol!" Absol bellowed as the scythe on its head began to glow white and it swung its head, sending out a white crescent blade of energy towards Wartortle.

"Jump and spin, Wartortle!" May commanded.

"War!" Wartortle shouted as it bounced off the ground using its tail and somersaulted over the razor wind.

"Absol, flash, now!" Shadow Mask ordered, desperately.

"Sol!" Absol bellowed as the black circle on Absol's forehead began to shine brightly, giving off a bright light.

"Rapid spin, Wartortle!" May commanded.

"Wartortle!" Wartortle shouted as it pulled all of its limbs into its shell and it spun like a disk towards Absol. It flew straight the flash attack, unharmed, and knocked Absol back into the wall.

"No way!" Shadow Mask cried out.

"And that's it!" Marian announced. May and Shadow Mask turned their attention towards the screen whilst everyone in the audience leaned forward in their seats. The winner is… it's May!" Marian declared.

"Yeah, Wartortle, we did it!" May yelled as she ran towards Wartortle and hugged it.

"War!" Wartortle cried, hugging May.

"Absol," Absol sighed.

"You did your best, Absol. That's all I can ask for. Thank you." Shadow Mask said as he petted Absol and returned it to its pokeball. He looked over at May and smiled.

'That girl is really something.' He thought.

* * *

"And now, Mr Contesta will present our winner, May, with the Solaceon ribbon!" Marian announced.

"Well done, dear. An excellent comeback." Mr Contesta told her.

"Thank you very much, sir." May replied. "Alright, this ribbon is mine all mine!" May exclaimed.

"War Wartortle!" Wartortle cried. May and Wartortle cheered until Shadow Mask walked up.

"You did really well, May." Shadow Mask complimented.

"Thank you. Oh!" May responded as a blue rose was thrust in her face. May took the rose, blushing.

"I'm sure we'll meet again," Shadow Mask said, mysteriously, as he left. May was watching his retreating figure when it finally clicked.

'Butterfree, the smirk, Absol, the rose, disappearing.' May thought. Just then, everyone rushed over to congratulate her.

"Wow, May, you did really well!" Dawn complimented.

"Yeah, you were awesome, May!" Max exclaimed. However, May didn't hear a word they said.

"You're not getting away from me this time." May said as she ran after Shadow Mask.

"Who's not getting away?" Ash asked. Misty smirked to herself, knowing where May was going.

"I think I know who Shadow Mask is." Misty revealed.

* * *

**_Hope you enjoyed it! Who is Shadow Mask? Find out in the next chapter. Please R&amp;R!_**

**_xBandanaRosesx_**


	9. Chapter 8 - The Cold Shoulder

**_Hi guys! This chapter leads on from the end of the Solaceon Contest. Enjoy!_**

**_Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon or any of the characters_**

* * *

**Chapter 8 – The Cold Shoulder**

* * *

May raced out of the contest hall as fast as she could, so that she could find Shadow Mask. She spotted him just ahead of her and managed to catch up to him.

"Hey! Shadow Mask!" May called. Shadow Mask stopped in his tracks. "I know it's you, Drew, so you can take off your disguise." May stated. Shadow Mask smirked to himself, knowing his cover was blown.

"You're not as dense as I thought, May." Drew said as he tore off his disguise and revealed himself. He turned around, only to be met by a-

*slap*

Drew's eyes widened as he held his left cheek, which had become red from the slap, and turned back to face May.

"What did I do to deserve that?" Drew asked.

"Are you serious!?" May shouted, incredulously.

"What? All I did was leave just like you wanted," Drew replied, confused. May laughed at his response.

"You are unbelievable, you know that." May told him. "Venusaur, come out!" May commanded. A quadruped pokemon, with bluish green skin and a large pink flower on its back, appeared from its pokeball and landed behind Drew. "Use vine whip!" May commanded.

"Saur!" Venusaur bellowed as several dark green vines came out from under the leaves on Venusaur's back.

"May, what are you do- Waah!" Drew cried as Venusaur grabbed him with his vines.

"Now, tie him to the tree." May commanded as she pointed to a tree behind Drew. Venusaur pulled Drew backwards until his back hit the tree and then it tightened its grip on Drew, so that he couldn't escape.

"May, tell Venusaur to put me down," Drew managed to get out as he struggled against Venusaur's hold. May just ignored his pleas and continued speaking. She stood a few steps away from him as she paced around, thinking about what to say.

"I just have one thing to say to you, Drew." May said as she came to a stop. "Why?" May asked as she turned to face him.

"What do you mean why? I told you. You wanted me to go, so I did." Drew responded.

"Oh, well, I'm sorry if I don't see that as feasible excuse." May replied. "You see, I recall many a time when you didn't exactly want me around, but that didn't make me leave." May pointed out. "For example, at the Kanto Grand Festival. You pushed Absol really hard because you didn't think its appeal was good enough and when I came to find you, I tried to reason with you, but what did you do; you screamed in my face and told me that I was a wimp." May explained.

"I know, May, but-" Drew started, but was cut off May.

"Shut up, Drew. I'm not in the mood for any of your excuses." May responded before continuing. "I'll admit that it did hurt at the time, but even then I stuck by you. No matter what, I have always been there, even when you push me away." May pointed out. "What did you to do? One sign of trouble and you go running for the hills just like the coward you are." May stated as she crossed her arms and turned her head to the left.

"Hey, that's not fair!" Drew shouted.

"Not fair! I'll tell you what's not fair!" May screamed as she uncrossed her arms and turned her head back to face him. "What's not fair is you making me spend hours worrying about you!" May yelled as she took a step towards Drew. "What's not fair is you making me think that you hated me!" May cried as she stepped so close to Drew that the tips of their toes were touching. "And what's not fair is you making me think that you ever cared about me," May whispered, harshly, as she grabbed Drew's collar and pulled him close to her.

"Uh, May." Drew replied, blushing furiously at their close proximity. May blinked and realised how close they were. She jumped away from Drew and turned her head to the left as she blushed red.

"You broke your promise Drew." May said as tears brimmed at her eyes and a silent tear slid down her cheek.

"I know and I'm sorry, May." Drew replied as he reached out to wipe away the tear.

"Don't touch me!" May screeched as she pushed Drew's hand away and turned her back to him.

"May-" Drew tried to say, but May cut him off.

"Look, if you're gonna stick around, fine. Just stay the hell away from me!" May spat, harshly, as she walked away. "Venusaur, let him go." May instructed as Venusaur retracted its vines from around Drew. "Return." May called as she pointed the pokeball behind her, without turning around, and engulfed Venusaur in a red light as it went back inside its pokeball. When May disappeared out of sight, Drew sighed.

"I've got a lot of making up to do." Drew said as he walked in May's direction.

* * *

May walked back inside the contest hall and saw everyone there waiting for her.

"May, where have you been?" Dawn asked.

"I had some stuff to sort out." May replied.

"With Shadow Mask, I mean, Drew, right?" Misty asked, knowingly.

"How did you-" May responded, but Misty cut her off.

"The way you rushed out of here like your life depended on it, it was obvious." Misty stated.

"By the way, where is Drew?" Kenny asked.

"Here." Drew said from behind May.

"Dude, where have you been?" Ash asked.

"Around, but I really need to talk to May." Drew told him.

"Well, I'm going to get changed. I'll meet you back at the pokemon center." May said to Dawn and Misty, ignoring Drew, as she grabbed her stuff and went to change. The boys all started to leave, but Misty and Dawn pulled Drew back.

"We need to talk." Dawn told him.

* * *

When they arrived at the pokemon center, the boys went to their room while Dawn and Misty stayed with Drew in the lobby. The girls sat down on either side of Drew, Misty on his left side and Dawn on his right side.

"Look, Drew. If we're going to try and understand what's going on here, you need to go back to the beginning and tell us why you two argued in the first place." Misty stated.

"Well, it all started last year. We were competing at the Hoenn grand festival and in the quarter-finals, May lost to Harley, badly. After that, May hadn't entered another contest until that first one in Hearthome City. That's why I was worried about her entering the contest in the first place." Drew replied.

"Why did you get into a fight?" Dawn asked. Drew sighed before answering.

"I let my emotions run away with me and started shouting at her for it. Not only for the mess-up, but because I knew it had something to do with Harley. Solidad was the only one she told about what really happened with Harley and the fact that May couldn't tell me, just hurt, you know." Drew explained. Misty put her right hand on his left shoulder and he gave her a small smile before continuing.

"So, May told me. She told me everything that happened between her and Harley." Drew said.

"What did happen? Misty asked.

"May, being the good sport she is, went to congratulate Harley, but Harley being Harley, wasn't so gracious about winning. He insulted her as a coordinator and said that she was a disgrace to the whole profession, but May was used to his behaviour, so she just brushed it off." Drew responded.

"That's so cruel. How could he say such a thing!?" Dawn said, angrily, as she clenched her fists.

"That's just who he is. He's always so determined to put May down or make her cry." Drew told her.

"But, how does that involve you?" Misty inquired.

"Harley knew that May couldn't care less about what he said, so he used me to get to her and just like he predicted, it worked. He said how I would be so disappointed in her performance and that I would be ashamed to call her my rival." Drew explained.

"Well, that's ridiculous. You'd never say anything so horrible-" Misty started, but stopped when she saw Drew's guilty face. "Would you?" Misty questioned.

"I'm not proud of it, but I did. That's what got her so mad at me. She didn't tell me about what happened with Harley because she was so determined to prove him wrong, but me thinking that she wasn't up to it made her so nervous that she messed up. That's the reason that I left. I couldn't face her every day knowing that all I do is cause her to fail." Drew confessed. Misty and Dawn exchanged sympathetic looks as they finally understood.

"Drew…" Dawn whispered as she placed her left hand on his right shoulder. Drew looked towards her before she continued.

"Do you even know what May has been through while you were gone?" Dawn asked. Drew shook his head in response. Dawn looked to Misty for help explaining.

"She was so angry when she found out that you left, that she went on a whole rampage. She trashed the room and even tore up her own contest dress." Misty told him.

"She did what!?" Drew replied, shocked.

"Once we managed to calm her down, May just broke down. She cried for days and she wouldn't eat or sleep." Dawn admitted.

"I did all that to her?" Drew questioned, ashamed of himself. Just then, May walked through the pokemon center doors.

"May!" Drew called as he stood up. May saw him and her eyes narrowed as she rushed off to her room before Drew could catch her. She went inside and shut the door behind her, leaving Drew outside.

"May, please talk to me. I'm sorry I hurt you. I know that I broke my promise to you, but don't think I forgot. I didn't want to go against my word, but I couldn't bear to be around you knowing that I'm just bringing you down. Please believe me, I thought it was for the best." Drew explained. May didn't respond causing Drew to sigh. "May, I'm not leaving here until you talk to me." Drew stated. Slowly, the door opened and May stood in the doorway. Drew smiled a little, glad she was giving him a chance. She looked down, not wanting to look Drew in the eye.

"I got your rose," May muttered, holding the red rose that Drew left behind. Drew looked confused until it finally clicked. He realised that May knew he had heard everything she said that day.

"That's why you thought I hated you," Drew breathed. "I don't hate you, May." Drew told her.

"Well, that's where you and I are different, Drew." May replied.

"Huh?" Drew responded. May looked up at Drew, hatred flashing in her eyes.

"Did you really think a rose would make up for a friendship filled with pain and broken promises?" May asked, incredulously.

"But, I thought-" Drew started, but was cut off by May.

"Yeah, well you thought wrong." May told him. "You want to know what I think of your apology. Here you go." May said as she ripped the flower off of the stem and threw the two parts of the rose to the ground. "That's what I think of your apology." May finished as she slammed the door in his face. Drew stood there, unable to comprehend what just happened. He picked up the rose pieces and slowly walked off to his room. Dawn and Misty looked on as they saw the events unfold. They shared a knowing glance as they headed towards the room.

"What was that for, May!?" Dawn asked as she and Misty burst through the door.

"What was what?" May replied, lying on her bed.

"Why did you have to say all that to Drew? He was trying to apologise and you just threw it back in his face!" Misty shouted.

"Yeah, well it's no more than he deserves!" May yelled.

"I don't understand you, May! When he left, you wanted nothing more than for him to come back, but as soon as he does, it's like you don't even want to know him." Dawn replied, exasperatedly, throwing up her arms. May sighed, knowing she had to explain.

"Alright, alright, I'll explain." May told them as Dawn and Misty sat down on Misty's bed. "Okay, I'll admit, once Drew had gone all I wanted was for him to come back, but don't you see; that's the reason why I pushed him away." May said.

"You're not making any sense, May." Misty responded.

"Look, you both saw the state I was in when he left. If I let him back in then what if he decides that he needs to leave again. I don't want to set myself up only to be left heartbroken. It's better this way." May admitted.

"For who, May? All you're doing is hurting you both." Dawn told her.

"Maybe so, but if it saves me the heartache, then so be it." May said as she turned away from them. Dawn and Misty knew they weren't going to get anything else out of her, so they decided to turn in for the night.

"Goodnight, Misty. Goodnight May." Dawn called.

"Goodnight Dawn." Misty replied. "Goodnight May," Misty whispered.

"Night." May murmured as she cried herself to sleep.

* * *

In the morning, Misty was the first one to get up, excited about getting to Hearthome City to compete in the tag battle competition. When she saw that May and Dawn were still asleep, she decided to go and get a hot chocolate for herself. After getting a hot chocolate, she walked to the pokemon center lobby and saw Drew sitting there with a cup of hot chocolate. Misty walked over and sat beside him, but he didn't seem to notice her.

"Drew?" Misty called, bringing him out of his thoughts.

"Huh?" Drew said as he blinked and looked towards Misty. "Oh, hi Misty." Drew replied. Misty saw that his eyes were slightly red and he looked like he hadn't gotten much sleep.

"You've been crying." Misty pointed out.

"What? No I haven't." Drew tried to cover up as he looked away.

"Don't lie to me, Drew. I know you have." Misty stated. Drew sighed, turning back to Misty.

"So, maybe I have a little." Drew admitted.

"Well, you're not the only one." Misty responded.

"What do you mean?" Drew asked.

"May cried herself to sleep last night." Misty told him.

"She did? Why?" Drew questioned.

"Look, I know she hurt you with what she said, but she hurt herself in the process." Misty answered. Drew had a look of confusion written all over of his face, so Misty decided to elaborate. "The reason that she did all that is because you hurt her and even though it hurts her to not let you back in her life, she says that she's doing it for her own protection. She's worried that you might leave her again, so by ignoring you, she's saving herself from any long-term heartache." Misty explained.

"What? You know that I'd never leave May again, not after this!" Drew cried.

"I know that, Drew, but May's very fragile when it comes to her emotions. If you want a chance at forgiveness then you're going to have to stop moping around and fight for your girl." Misty told him.

"You're right, Misty." Drew said as he stood up. "Thanks." Drew added as he gave Misty a yellow rose and walked off to his room. Misty smiled before heading back to her room.

* * *

Upon entering the room, May noticed that she was holding a rose.

"Misty, where did you get that from?" May asked.

"Oh, May, you're up." Misty noticed. "Drew gave this to me." Misty answered. As soon as May heard that, she felt her heart sink as she sat down on the bed.

"I thought you said Drew only gives roses to me," May said, sadly. Misty smirked at her reaction.

"Why May? Jealous?" Misty teased.

"Of course not!" May protested. Misty giggled at her reaction.

"Dawn and I said that he only gives red roses to you. Each rose has its own meaning." Misty told her. "Yellow roses mean friendship." Misty said, putting May's mind at ease.

"Well, Drew gave me a blue rose yesterday when he was dressed as Shadow Mask. What do blue roses mean?" May asked.

"Blue roses usually mean mystery…" Misty started.

"That makes sense." May replied.

"…but they can also mean 'I can't stop thinking about you'," Misty added, suggestively, making May blush red.

"S-so, what do you red roses mean?" May stuttered.

"Ah, well that one you're going to have to find out yourself," Misty said, in a sing-song voice, as she walked into the bathroom.

"Aww, come on, Misty," May pleaded, but Misty ignored her. Just then, Dawn began to stir as she woke up.

"What's going on?" Dawn asked. May grinned, knowing who to ask.

"Oh nothing. Misty and I were just having a conversation about rose meanings." May told her. "Say Dawn, do you know what yellow roses mean?" May asked.

"Yellow roses mean friendship." Dawn replied.

"What about blue roses?" May questioned.

"Blue roses mean mystery," Dawn responded, yawning.

'This is it.' May thought.

"Okay, then what about red roses?" May inquired.

"May, I may be half asleep, but even I'm not stupid enough to tell you that. You'll have to work it out for yourself." Dawn replied, half smirking at her.

"Fine," May sighed, pouting.

* * *

After breakfast, everyone stood outside of the pokemon center as they waited for Dawn.

"Jeez, what's taking Dawn so long?" Max asked.

"This is normal for Dawn. She always takes forever with her hair." May replied. She realised that she hadn't told Beautifly that Drew was back, so she decided to let it out of its pokeball.

"Beautifly, come out!" May instructed. The black and yellow butterfly pokemon appeared from its pokeball.

"Beau?" 'What?' Beautifly asked, confused.

"Look who's back." May said as she pointed behind Beautifly. Beautifly turned around and its eyes immediately brightened upon seeing Drew. It flew over to Drew and landed on his head.

"Beau! Beautifly!" Beautifly cried.

"Hey Beautifly. It's good to see you too," Drew greeted. "Do you want to see Masquerain?" Drew asked.

"Beau!" Beautifly cried.

"Okay. Masquerain, get out here." Drew called as the eyeball pokemon appeared from its pokeball.

"Masquerain!" Masquerain exclaimed as it spotted Beautifly. The two flew over to each other and danced together.

"Aww, how cute," Misty cooed.

"I haven't seen Beautifly this happy in a long time," May said, happily, as Dawn came rushing out.

"Finally, Dee Dee." Kenny said.

"Well, so-rry, but a girl needs time to get ready." Dawn replied. "Also, the name is Dawn!" Dawn shouted.

"Whatever you say, Dee Dee," Kenny teased as he started to walk off.

"It's Dawn! You need to call me by name!" Dawn yelled as she followed him. The others set off after Dawn and Kenny, as well.

"Sure thing, Dee Dee." Kenny responded. Dawn growled, knowing she wasn't going to get anywhere.

'Number 2 'Teasing can be used as a form of flirting' done.' Misty thought as she giggled at the two. The gang carried on walking, but stopped when three pink robotic arms came out of nowhere and grabbed Pikachu, Beautifly and Masquerain.

"Pikachu!" Ash shouted.

"Beautifly!" May cried.

"Masquerain!" Drew yelled.

"Alright, who's there!?" Misty roared.

"Prepare for trouble; it's us again!" (Jessie)

"And make it double; we are your bane!" (James)

"To make sure you never live in peace!" (Jessie)

"To tell you our plans will never cease!" (James)

"To jump for joy because we have Pikachu!" (Jessie)

"To cheer because we have your other pokemon too!" (James)

"Jessie!" (Jessie)

"James!" (James)

"Team Rocket, blast off at the speed of light!" (Jessie)

"Surrender now or prepare to fight!" (James)

"Meowth! That's right!" (Meowth)

"Wobuffet!" (Wobuffet)

"Team Rocket!" Everyone yelled.

"Hahaha! We got Pikachu! We got Pikachu!" Meowth taunted.

"Oh and look, we caught a beautifly and masquerain too." James pointed out.

"A beautifly!" Jessie cried. "Now I can have the beautifly that I've always wanted," Jessie said, happily.

"Hey! My wurmple evolved into a beautifly and yours didn't! Get your own, Beautifly's mine!" May shouted.

"Oh boohoo!" Jessie replied as she pulled down on the skin under her left eye and stuck her tongue out at May.

"Pikachu, use thunderbolt!" Ash ordered.

"Pika-chu!" Pikachu cried as it released a jolt of electricity that travelled up the robotic arm. However, it didn't have any effect.

"Did you seriously think we wouldn't be electric proof?" James asked, laughing. Ash growled at them in response.

"Bye bye!" Meowth called as the balloon started to fly away. Drew looked over at May and saw the distraught look on her face.

"That's it!" Drew yelled. "Roserade, let's go!" Drew commanded. The bipedal pokemon, with red and blue bouquet hands and white rose petal hair, appeared from its pokeball. "Use magical leaf!" Drew commanded.

"Rose!" Roserade shouted as it released a barrage of glowing light green leaves. The power of the leaves was strong enough to cut through the robot arms. Beautifly and Masquerain were able to fly out before they fell, but Pikachu began falling to the ground. The two bug and flying types quickly raced towards the falling mouse pokemon and caught it as Pikachu landed on both of their wings.

"Pika!" 'Thanks!' Pikachu thanked them.

"Beau!" 'Sure!' Beautifly replied.

"Masquerain!" 'No problem!' Masquerain responded. The two pokemon flew over to Ash and Pikachu jumped into his arms.

"Pikachu!" Ash cheered, smiling. Beautifly flew straight towards May and landed on her head.

"Beautifly!" May exclaimed, taking Beautifly off her head and hugging it. "Thanks, Roserade." May thanked the flower pokemon. Roserade nodded at her in response. Masquerain flew over to Drew's side.

"Are you okay?" Drew questioned.

"Mas." 'Yes' Masquerain told him.

"Aaah! He stole the pokemon!" Meowth cried.

"Seviper, get them back!" Jessie instructed. The black serpentine pokemon appeared from its pokeball.

"Go get them, Carnivine!" James called. The green venus flytrap pokemon appeared from its pokeball, but before it went to attack, it went to hug James.

"Don't attack me, attack them!" James cried, struggling to escape Carnivine's grip.

"Seviper, use poison tail!" Jessie instructed.

"Viper!" Seviper hissed as the dagger part of its tail began to glow purple and it aimed for Roserade.

"Carnivine, use vine whip!" James called.

"Carni-vine!" Carnivine yelled as two dark green vines came out from the leaves underneath its head and it aimed straight for Roserade.

"Roserade, use petal dance!" Drew commanded.

"Roserade!" Roserade shouted as it spun around and released multiple pink petals towards the pokemon.

"Carnvine, grab Seviper and jump up using your vines!" James called. Carnivine grabbed Seviper with its left vine and used its right vine to bounce off the ground and dodge the attack.

"Wow! Nice dodge, James!" Jessie praised.

"Well, you don't battle these twerps without picking up a thing or two." James replied, smugly. Suddenly, a roar could be heard.

"What was that?" May asked.

"I don't think Roserade's petal dance missed after all." Drew responded, with a gulp. An angry rhydon came into a view as it prepared to launch an attack. It opened its mouth and an orange ball appeared in front of it.

"What's it doing, Meowth?" Jessie asked, worried.

"It's going to launch a hyper beam!" Meowth cried.

"Rhy-don!" The rhydon bellowed as it fired an orange beam at Team Rocket.

"Team Rocket's blasting off again!" Team Rocket cried as they flew off into the distance. The rhydon soon set its sights on the others.

"Run!" Drew yelled as they all started running away from the rhydon. The rhydon chased after them, shooting hyper beams everywhere, until it finally hit the gang and they were all sent flying.

"Aaaaaaahhh!" They screamed as they, too, blasted off.

* * *

When they landed, Kenny got up, clutching his head in pain.

"Ugh. Where am I?" Kenny wondered as he looked around. He was sitting on a path and he saw tall grey walls surrounding it. He stood up and saw Ash lying on the ground.

"Ash!" Kenny called as he ran over to him. Ash began to stir as Kenny shook him.

"Kenny? Where are we?" Ash asked.

"I'm not sure. It looks like some sort of maze." Kenny said.

"A maze?" Ash questioned as he stood up and looked at his surroundings. "Hey, I know this place." Ash remembered.

"You do?" Kenny replied.

"Yeah. Brock, Dawn and I got lost here once before. This maze is really tricky, so we better try and find our way out as fast as possible." Ash told him.

"Right." Kenny responded.

* * *

Meanwhile, Misty and Max had gotten lost together and were walking around, trying to find their way out.

"How did we end up in a maze?" Max asked.

"I don't know, Max, but we better get out of here and find the others." Misty replied. Suddenly, a rumbling sound could be heard.

"What's that?" Misty asked as a group of Golem came running towards them.

"Golem!" Max shouted.

"Don't worry, my water pokemon will sort them out." Misty said. She reached in to her pockets, but found nothing there.

"What? My pokeballs are gone!" Misty cried.

"They must have gotten scattered in the blast which means they must be in this maze somewhere!" Max realised.

"What do we do now!?" Misty panicked as the Golem came rolling towards them.

"Quick! Against the wall!" Max instructed as he and Misty spread themselves against the wall and the Golem rolled past them.

"Phew," Misty sighed. "Thanks, Max. You saved my life." Misty thanked him.

"Ah, don't mention it." Max replied. "Anyway, let's go find the others." Max said as he and Misty continued through the maze.

* * *

Elsewhere, Pikachu had ended up in the maze and was walking around.

"Pika Pi?" 'Where am I?' Pikachu thought as it looked around. "Pika!" 'The maze!' Pikachu remembered. Pikachu kept going until it saw a pokeball lying on the ground. "Pika!" 'Yes!' Pikachu cried as it ran towards the red and white ball. Pikachu pressed the button on the pokeball and a pokemon came out.

"Piplup?" 'Huh?' Piplup said.

"Pika!" 'Piplup!' Pikachu cried.

"Pip? Piplup!" 'What? Pikachu!' Piplup exclaimed. The two of them gave each other a hi-five before Pikachu began to explain.

"Pika Pi Pikachu Pi Pika." 'We're stuck in the maze again.' Pikachu told Piplup.

"Lup Piplup Pip?" 'Where are the others?' Piplup asked.

"Pikachu Pika Pi Chu Pikachu Pi." 'They must have gotten lost. Let's go find the other pokemon.' Pikachu replied.

"Piplup." 'Okay.' Piplup responded.

* * *

On the top of a pillar, Dawn was standing on a grass platform with Brock.

"I can't believe we got lost in the maze again." Dawn said.

"Yeah, the last time we got lost here, you were rushing to get your coin toss application." Brock remembered.

"Oh yeah. I wish I had my pokemon though," Dawn complained. Brock was looking around when he spotted something red.

"Dawn! Look over there!" Brock pointed out. Dawn followed Brock's gaze to see what he was looking at.

"Pokeballs!" Dawn cried as she and Brock got off of the platform and ran over to them. Dawn opened two pokeballs to reveal the pokemon inside them.

"Toge!" Togekiss cried.

"Empoleon!" Empoleon roared.

"Togekiss, Empoleon!" Dawn exclaimed as she hugged her pokemon and patted Kenny's pokemon on the back. Brock picked up the other two pokeballs and released the pokemon within them.

"Forretress!" Forretress shouted.

"Kirlia!" Kirlia called.

"Alright, Forretress!" Brock cheered, patting his pokemon on the head. "Hi there, Kirlia. We'll help you get back to your trainer." Brock informed.

"Togekiss, do you think you could give me and Brock a ride, so that we can find everyone?" Dawn asked.

"Toge!" 'Of course!' Togekiss replied as it lowered itself, signalling for Dawn and Brock to get on.

"Thanks, Togekiss." Dawn thanked her pokemon as she and Brock climbed on. "Okay, return Empoleon." Dawn said as Empoleon returned to its pokeball and Dawn put it in her bag.

"You too, Kirlia." Brock instructed as he called Kirlia back to its pokeball and placed it in his backpack.

"Let's go, Togekiss." Dawn ordered as she and Brock flew off to locate the others.

* * *

Somewhere else in the maze, May was wandering around, annoyed by someone else's presence.

"Great. First, I get lost in a maze and second, I get lost with you." May complained.

'Now would be a good time to bond with May, seeing as we're alone.' Drew thought.

"You know, this is all your fault." May said. Suddenly, all thoughts of being nice to May went out the window.

"My fault!?" Drew asked, angered.

"Yeah! If you hadn't of attacked that rhydon with petal dance, we wouldn't be here in the first place" May pointed out.

"Well, sorry for trying to save our pokemon, not that you thanked me for it." Drew replied.

"I thanked Roserade. You didn't do anything." May responded. Drew growled at her in annoyance. "Look, just don't talk to me and we won't have a problem." May told him as she walked ahead.

"May, you're going to have to talk to me at some point. We're travelling together for goodness sake!" Drew reminded her. May ignored him.

"May." Drew said with no response. "May." Drew repeated with no answer. "May!" Drew shouted, met by a familiar silence. "That's it! I'm going to stay right here until you talk to me." Drew stated. May kept walking, but when she realised that Drew wasn't following her, she stopped and turned around.

"Drew, we have to find the others." May told him.

"I'm not moving until you agree that you're going to speak to me." Drew replied. As May was about to answer, she heard a pokemon cry out.

"Did you hear that?" May asked.

"Yeah I did." Drew responded as an onix came out of nowhere and started heading towards him.

"Run Drew!" May yelled. Drew was about to move out of the way when he had a thought.

'This is how I'm going to get May to talk to me.' Drew thought, smirking. May saw that he made no attempt to move and was confused.

"Drew, what are you doing?" May questioned.

"I told you. Until you agree, I'm not moving." Drew replied.

"What!? Drew, this isn't the time to talk about this!" May yelled.

"Well, I think it is," Drew responded, calmly. The onix was getting closer and May was starting to panic.

"Drew, if you don't move, you're going to get hurt." May told him.

"I don't care." Drew told her.

"Ugh! Stop being so stubborn!" May shouted.

"Why? Does it remind you of someone?" Drew said as he turned his head to look at her. Due to this, he was not able to see the onix prepare to attack as it raised its tail.

"Drew!" May screamed as she sprinted towards him and pushed out of the way, just as the onix struck her and smashed her back into the wall.

"May!" Drew yelled as he raced over to her. He stood in front of her, protectively, as the onix was about to attack him. Drew closed his eyes, preparing for the attack, when the onix cried out in pain. He opened his eyes to see…

"Flygon, Masquerain!" Drew called out. "Alright, Masquerain, use bubble!" Drew commanded.

"Mas!" Masquerain cried as a large light blue bubble formed on the top of its head and it released clear bubbles, aiming for Onix. Onix cried out as it was struck by the super effective water move.

"Now, use ice beam!" Drew commanded.

"Mas-querain!" Masquerain cried as a light blue ball appeared above its head and it fired light blue beams at Onix, making it run away in defeat. Masquerain and Flygon flew towards Drew as Flygon landed on the ground and Masquerain fluttered around by Drew's side.

"Thanks, Masquerain." Drew thanked his pokemon for its help before returning his attention to May.

"May. May!" Drew yelled. May slowly opened her eyes as she looked at Drew's worried face. "May, why did you save me?" Drew asked. May smiled as she cupped Drew's cheek.

"I'm sorry too, Drew." May replied as her hand fell and she fainted.

"No, May. May!" Drew tried to wake her with no luck. He put one hand behind her back and one hand behind her head to pull her forward. As soon as he put his hand behind her head, it felt wet. He shakily removed his hand and saw that it was covered in blood.

"Blood!" Drew cried as he brought May's head forward and saw that her bandana was soaked in blood. He reached into his bag and took out some bandages that he carries around, for emergencies. He untied May's bandana and removed it before tightly wrapping the bandages around May's head, to stop the bleeding. "There. That should do for now." Drew said. "Flygon! Do you think you can carry me and May to the nearest pokemon center?" Drew asked.

"Fly." 'Yes.' Flygon replied as it lowered itself for Drew and May to get on. Drew picked May up bridal style and placed her on Flygon before he climbed on and sat behind her.

"Masquerain. Go find the others and make sure they're okay." Drew instructed.

"Mas." 'Okay.' Masquerain replied as it flew off.

"Alright, Flygon, let's go." Drew said as he held onto May and Flygon while they flew. As Dawn and Brock were flying around, they spotted Drew on his Flygon.

"Drew!" Dawn called out as Togekiss flew closer. She spotted May, unconscious, and knew something was wrong.

"What happened to May?" Dawn asked, worried.

"She got hit by an onix and was knocked back into the wall. She has a really bad head injury and I need to get her to the pokemon center as soon as possible." Drew informed.

"Okay, well, we'll continue looking for everyone and meet you there." Brock told him.

"Got it." Drew replied as he flew off. "Hang in there, May." Drew whispered as he looked down at May.

* * *

**_Hope you enjoyed it! So, will May be okay? Wait for the next chapter and find out! Please R&amp;R!_**

**_xBandanaRosesx_**


	10. Chapter 9 - Apologies

_**Hi guys! The story continues from after the incident in the maze. Enjoy!**_

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon or any of the characters**_

* * *

**Chapter 9 – Apologies**

* * *

When the others eventually got to the pokemon center, they found Drew nervously pacing up and down.

"What happened?" Misty asked.

"There was an onix charging towards me, in the maze, and just as it was about to attack me, May pushed me out of the way and got hit instead. She got knocked back into the brick wall and when I went to check on her, she had a really bad head injury, so I wrapped her head with bandages, to stop the bleeding, and brought her here on Flygon." Drew explained.

"Who's looking after May?" Ash asked.

"Well, luckily, the Nurse Joy here is also a trained doctor for people." Drew answered.

"What did Nurse Joy say?" Max asked.

"She said that May's head injury was very serious and she had to go into surgery immediately. She's still in there now." Drew told him.

"What if she dies!?" Dawn cried as she covered her face and burst into tears. Kenny pulled her close to him as she sobbed into his shirt.

"She's not going to die! Stop thinking like that!" Drew shouted as he stormed off.

"Don't worry, it's just the shock of it all. Once he knows May's okay, he'll be fine." Brock said. Drew walked over to the room where May was having her surgery. He looked in the window and saw Nurse Joy operating on May. He placed his left hand on the window and leaned his head against the glass. "Please be okay, May…" Drew whispered.

* * *

After about an hour, everyone was still sitting in the waiting room. Kenny was holding onto Dawn, and Ash was holding onto Misty. The boys comforted them as the girls worried about their best friend. Brock tried to reassure Max that everything would be alright to stop him from worrying so much. Drew remained silent the whole time, not sure how to deal with this situation. Suddenly, the red emergency light turned off. Drew immediately noticed and stood up as Nurse Joy came out.

"How is she?" Drew inquired.

"Well, she's very lucky. The surgery was a success. If you hadn't have gotten here when you did, things might have turned out a lot worse." Nurse Joy told him.

"What about the bleeding?" Misty asked.

"May's head injury was quite severe. She had a slight cut in the back in of her head, but there was also some internal bleeding. As a result of this, she's in a coma at the moment." Nurse Joy responded. Everyone gasped out of shock and the girls started to cry again.

"How long for?" Max asked.

"It's a very light coma, so she should come around within a week." Nurse Joy replied.

"Will she recover?" Brock asked.

"Once she comes out of her coma, May will need to stay in bed for about a week to give her body time to fully recover." Nurse Joy informed.

"C-can we go a-and s-see her?" Dawn stuttered.

"Yes, you may, but only two at a time. If you want to talk to her, you can, but I'm not sure if she will be able to hear you." Nurse Joy replied. Everyone nodded in understanding before she walked off to check on the sick pokemon.

"Well, who wants to go in first?" Brock questioned.

"I'll go last." Drew told them.

"Okay, well, can Kenny and I go first?" Dawn asked. Everyone nodded in agreement and Dawn and Kenny entered the room.

"Hi, May;" Dawn said, shakily. "I'm not sure if you can hear me, but you were very brave doing what you did. Please, hang in there!" Dawn cried as she sobbed on Kenny's shoulder.

"You have some real guts on you, May. I have nothing but utter respect for you. Get well soon." Kenny said as he took Dawn out of the room.

"Do you want to go in, Ash?" Misty asked. Ash nodded and they went in, hand in hand.

"Hey there, May." Misty started. "What you did for Drew was amazing and I know you're strong enough to pull through, girl." Misty finished.

"You're awesome, May!" Ash cheered. "You showed how much you really care for your friends, so feel better soon, okay?" Ash told her as he and Misty walked out. Brock and Max were the next to enter the room.

"May!" Max shouted as he ran over to her. "Please, May! Don't die! I need you!" Max exclaimed. Brock put his hand on his shoulder as a sign of comfort.

"Just know that we all love you, May, and we know you can make it." Brock told her. Max gave May a hug before he and Brock left the room. Drew looked up and saw that it was his turn to go in.

"Drew, you can go in now." Brock told him.

"I-I I can't do it!" Drew blurted out as he ran out of the pokemon center. Everyone had sympathetic looks on their faces, knowing it must be hard for him.

"Let me speak to him." Misty said as she followed Drew.

* * *

Misty walked outside of the pokemon center and saw Drew sitting on a nearby bench, with his head in his hands. She made her way over to him and sat down beside him.

"It's my fault, Misty." Drew said.

"No, it isn't, Drew. What happened to May was an accident. I know you blame yourself, but-" Misty replied, but Drew cut her off.

"No, you don't understand!" Drew cried, making Misty go silent. "I did it to prove a point." Drew told her.

"What did you do?" Misty asked.

"May wouldn't speak to me, so I refused to move until she agreed. When the onix came charging towards me, she screamed at me to move out of the way, but I didn't listen, so she pushed me out of the way and got hurt. She's here because of me," Drew admitted, sadly.

"Drew, you know May and I know May. Do you really think she's going to care about any of that?" Misty responded.

"But-" Drew tried to protest, but Misty cut him off.

"No buts. When May wakes up, she is going to be very vulnerable and she is going to need us to be strong for her, so if you can't do that then you better leave right now." Misty told him as she pointed towards the forest. Drew just stared at her in shock before smiling.

"I get it. Don't worry, I'm not going anywhere," Drew reassured.

"Good." Misty replied, smiling. Drew produced a yellow rose, out of nowhere, and gave it to Misty.

"You know, Ash doesn't know how lucky he is." Drew said as he left, causing a pink tint to appear on Misty's cheeks.

Drew walked back towards May's room and when everyone spotted him, Brock patted him on the shoulder.

"We'll give you two some privacy." Brock said as he and the others walked off. Drew nodded his head in thanks as he stepped inside May's room. He saw May attached to the machine by wires and he had to try his very hardest not to cry. Drew walked over to the chair beside May's bed and sat down as he took a hold of her right hand.

"Hey, May. It's me." Drew said. "I just wanted to apologise for my recent behaviour. I know I shouldn't have broken my promise to you, but you were right. I'm not good in a crisis and, between you and me, I can't deal with girls crying." Drew admitted. "Especially you, May. I couldn't bear to be around you knowing that I was only causing you to fail, so I ran away." Drew told her. "And if that wasn't enough, when I do come back, I end up putting you in here because I was trying to prove some stupid bloody point!" Drew yelled, frustrated with himself. He looked back at May and felt his heart drop. "I'm just really s-sorry, May. Please be alright," Drew whispered as a silent tear slid down his cheek. He kissed her on the forehead and he could have sworn that he saw her blush, but he dismissed it and sat back down as he watched over her.

* * *

'Ugh. Where am I?' May thought. All she could see was black and she had no idea what was going on. She thought back and remembered being lost in the maze with Drew and then getting attacked by an onix.

"Drew." May thought. Suddenly, she heard a voice.

"Hi, May."

'Dawn.' May thought. She heard Dawn's plea and it just made her heart break knowing that everyone was so worried about her. May mentally smiled at Kenny's compliment and made a note to thank Kenny for his kind words.

"If I'm right, the next person should be-" May thought as she was cut off by a voice.

"Hey there, May."

'Misty.' May thought. She was happy that Misty was proud of her for what she did and mentally laughed at Ash's cheerful behaviour.

'Same old Ash.' May thought. She heard the sound of footsteps running towards her bedside.

"May!"

'Max. May thought, sadly. How she wanted to hug him tight and tell him everything was going to be alright. It hurt her to not be able to comfort her brother. She heard Brock's kind words and they reassured her that if something did happen to her, there would always be people looking out for him. After Max and Brock left the room, May didn't hear any movement for some time.

'Where's Drew?' May thought as she started to panic, thinking something happened to him after she passed out. However, she soon heard gentle footsteps walking towards her, putting her mind at rest.

"Hey, May. It's me." May heard everything he said about not being able to deal with girls crying or not being good in a crisis. She knew that he probably thought, or hoped, that she couldn't hear him.

'I'm so going to tease him about that later.' May thought, mentally giggling. However, when she heard Drew's next words, it warmed her heart to know that he did care about her, but she also felt guilty about treating him so badly. All she wanted to do was wake up and hold onto him, so she could tell him how sorry she was and that she forgave him. May felt Drew kiss her forehead and she couldn't contain the heat that rose to her cheeks. She tried to get rid of it as quickly as possible, hoping he wouldn't have noticed.

* * *

Drew spent the rest of the week sitting by May's bedside. He was the first person there in the morning and the last person there at night. He refused to leave her side for one minute because he wanted to be there when she woke up. As Drew sat by May's bedside, Kenny came in to talk to him.

"Hey Drew, do you want something to eat?" Kenny asked.

"I'm not hungry." Drew replied.

"Drew, you haven't eaten properly for days. You're wasting away, man. Do you think May would want to see you like this?" Kenny told him.

"Imagine Dawn was lying in May's place, Kenny." Drew said. "Imagine that Dawn was lying here because of you." Drew added. "I don't think your own personal wellbeing would your first priority either, do you?" Drew asked. Kenny nodded in understanding before leaving him be. Drew turned his attention back to May. He gently brushed the hair out of her eyes as he cupped her cheek.

"Wake up soon, May." Drew muttered as his eyes began to feel heavy and they closed.

* * *

'Light?' May thought as she slowly opened her eyes and she could see everything around her. She was dressed in a hospital gown and she was in one of the patient rooms in the pokemon center. May tried to move her muscles and slowly lifted her left hand up and down.

"I'm awake." May whispered. She looked to her right and saw Drew. He was holding her right hand in his left and his right arm was resting on the bed with his head lying on top.

'He looks so cute when he's asleep.' May thought before she blushed, realising what she just thought about. She sat up in her bed and carefully removed her right hand from Drew's grip as she stroked his smooth green hair.

'It's so soft.' May thought as Drew began to stir. He lifted up his head and slowly opened his eyes to see May smiling at him.

"May?" Drew questioned, half asleep. "May!" Drew cried as he jumped up, fully awake.

"Hi, Drew." May greeted.

"How are you feeling?" Drew asked.

"I'm okay." May responded.

"Good." Drew replied, relieved. "May?" Drew said.

"Yeah?" May questioned.

"Don't you ever scare me like that again!" Drew yelled, loudly, making May flinch. He pointed his finger at her and looked at May with a stern expression on his face and an unreadable emotion in his eyes. May nodded mutely, thinking Drew was angry with her. Drew's eyes softened and he engulfed May in a hug.

"I'm sorry I shouted at you, May. It's just, I was scared that I lost you," Drew mumbled into her hair. May smiled as she wrapped her arms around Drew's neck.

"I was scared I lost you, too." May admitted.

"You'll never lose me, May." Drew told her as he tightened his grip on her. May fell back onto her bed and brought Drew with her. When Drew pulled back slightly, the two blushed furiously at their close proximity. Drew got off of May, so she could sit up, and he sat next to her on the bed.

"So, Drew, you can't deal with girls crying, huh?" May teased as she nudged him. A faint blush could be seen on Drew's cheeks as he realised that she had heard everything he said that day. Then, he remembered that he saw something that day, too.

"Well, you got embarrassed when I kissed you on the forehead, didn't you?" Drew retorted as he nudged May back.

"No I didn't!" May denied, blushing.

"That blush just gives you away, May." Drew told her, chuckling. "I knew I wasn't imagining it." Drew said.

"Anyway, how long have I been out for?" May asked.

"A week." Drew replied.

"A week! That's a lot of time that I could have spent training." May realised. "By the way, where are my pokemon?" May asked.

"Well, Max has been training with Venusaur, Snorlax and Blaziken to keep up with training, Dawn wanted to find out more about ice types, so she's been looking after Glaceon and Misty just loves your Wartortle, so she's been watching it for you." Drew informed.

"What about Beautifly?" May questioned.

"Beautifly's been a bit distressed ever since you were put in here, so Masquerain's been keeping it company to comfort it. Beautifly's here with me because it wanted be here once you were awake. Hang on a minute." Drew said as he got Beautifly's pokeball out of his pocket. "Come out, Beautifly." Drew called as he released the black and yellow butterfly pokemon.

"Beautifly!" 'May!' Beautifly cried as it fluttered over to May.

"Hi there, Beautifly. I've missed you." May told Beautifly, as she hugged it. "Thanks for watching over Beautifly, Drew." May thanked him, smiling.

"It was the least I could do." Drew replied. After hearing that, May knew that she and Drew had to talk.

"Beautifly, I need to talk to Drew right now. I'll see you later, okay?" May told Beautifly.

"Beau." 'Okay.' Beautifly replied as May returned it to its pokeball.

"What's up, May?" Drew asked. May took Drew's left hand in both of her hands before she spoke.

"Drew, what happened in the maze wasn't your fault. I know you think that, so please don't." May answered. Drew took his hand out of hers and looked down.

"You don't have to be nice to me, May. If I hadn't have been so stubborn then you wouldn't have gotten hurt and you wouldn't be here right now," Drew said, sadly, making May giggle. "What's so funny?" Drew questioned.

"Nothing, it just feels weird you blaming yourself for being stubborn. It's usually the other way 'round." May pointed out, giggling, causing Drew to chuckle. "But, seriously, do you really think I would lie to you?" May inquired. Drew looked her in the eyes and saw the honesty in them.

"No, I know you wouldn't, May." Drew replied.

"Right, so believe me when I say it isn't your fault. I could've let you get hit by the onix, but I chose to push you out of the way. It's was my decision and due to that, I ended up in here." May told him. Drew nodded in understanding.

"So, do you forgive me?" Drew inquired, hopeful.

"Yes, I forgive you." May answered, making Drew smile.

"Can I ask you something, May?" Drew asked.

"Sure." May responded, happily.

"Why did you save me?" Drew questioned.

"What do you mean?" May replied, confused.

"Well, Dawn and Misty told me about how you went on a whole rampage when I left." Drew told her.

"Oh, you know about that," May muttered, looking down, feeling embarrassed.

"Yeah. So, you really missed me, huh?" Drew said, smugly, flipping his hair.

"What!? No I didn't!" May protested, looking back up at Drew.

"You don't need to lie to me, May. Misty said you stomped off and tore up your whole room because you were in such a mad rage." Drew added, smirking at her.

"You're unbelievable, you know that! First you're nice to me and then you act like an insensitive jerk!" May screamed, crossing her arms and turning away from him. Drew chuckled at her reaction.

"What are you laughing for? It's not funny, Drew!" May yelled, looking at Drew, her face red from anger.

"I know, I know, I'm just kidding, May." Drew said, laughing. "I missed that." Drew commented.

"Missed what?" May asked.

"Being able to make you angry so easily," Drew teased.

"I do not get angry easily!" May shouted.

"Right, and you don't calm down as soon as I give you one of these." Drew replied, sarcastically, as he produced a red rose out of thin air and gave it to May. May's anger dissipated immediately and she took the rose out of his hands, blushing. She breathed in the rose's scent and gave a satisfied sigh. Suddenly, she remembered what Drew had just said. May looked back up at Drew and saw him smirking at her.

"Oh, shut up." May said, pushing Drew, making him chuckle. "So, was that the only thing you missed about me?" May inquired, hopeful.

"No." Drew replied. May waited for him to elaborate, but he didn't say anything else.

"Drew!" May cried.

"What? You asked a question and I answered it." Drew said, trying not to laugh.

"Yes, but I wanted to know what you missed about me." May told him.

"Well then, you should have made your question clearer, May." Drew responded, playfully, touching the tip of her nose with his right index finger. May pouted in response. "Alright, alright I'll tell you. I missed your laugh, your voice…" Drew trailed off, looking May straight in the eye. "I missed you." Drew answered, truthfully. May's face instantly brightened and she wrapped her arms around Drew in a tight hug.

"I missed you, too." May whispered. Drew returned the action and the two of them sat like that for a while, enjoying the comfortable silence that had fallen upon them. Eventually, Drew pulled away, making May whine.

"I know you love me and all May, but you have to let go sometime." Drew said, smugly, smirking at her. May blushed and turned away from him causing Drew to shake his head at her.

"You know, you never answered my question, May." Drew pointed out.

"What question?" May asked, pretending to forget.

"Why did you save me?" Drew inquired.

"Oh that." May said, looking down. "Well, I care about you a lot, Drew. You mean a lot to me and I couldn't bear it if I lost you." May replied, poking her two index fingers together. She shut her eyes tightly and waited for Drew's response.

'I knew I shouldn't have said anything. I'm never going to hear the end of this." May thought.

"Really?" Drew asked, bringing May out of her thoughts. She looked up to him and saw the honesty in his eyes. No teasing, no sarcastic comments, just a genuine question.

"Of course, Drew. Why would you think otherwise?" May inquired.

"Well, I always tease you and I act like such a jerk towards you, so I just thought that you hated me." Drew responded.

"I could never hate you, Drew." May told him. "Sure, you can be so annoying that I want to hit you and sometimes you do hurt my feelings with what you say, but I know that you just want the best for me. You always give me advice, in some way, shape or form, on how to be a better coordinator and you're always there for me when I need you. That's what really counts." May confessed.

"What are friends for, May?" Drew replied, giving her a half smile. May looked at him with confusion written all over face.

"But, Drew, you're not my friend." May started. Drew felt like someone had just punched him in the gut.

"I'm not?" Drew asked, hurt. May giggled at his reaction before continuing.

"No, silly. You're my best friend." May finished, smiling.

"I am?" Drew questioned, shocked.

"Of course you are." May beamed. Drew breathed a sigh of relief, glad that May didn't hate him.

"Don't say things like that, May. You worried me." Drew told her.

"Noted." May said, giggling. "I just wanted to say that I'm sorry about how I acted towards you, Drew." May apologised.

"Don't worry about it, I forgive you. I know you were just protecting yourself from anymore hurt." Drew responded, ruffling her hair. May pushed his hand away before speaking.

"Promise me one thing, Drew." May whispered.

"Anything." Drew replied.

"Don't ever leave me again!" May cried, burying her face in his shirt.

"Never, May. Not after this." Drew responded. "And this time, I'll make sure that I keep that promise." Drew added, wrapping his arms around her in reassurance.

"Can I ask you a favour, Drew?" May questioned.

"Sure, May." Drew said.

"Will you help me to train?" May asked, timidly. The fact that May wanted his help made Drew feel really good inside. He always thought that they would be nothing more than rivals, but this shows that they have made substantial progress in their relationship.

"May, you don't need to ask that. I would do it anyway." Drew replied.

"You would?" May questioned.

"Of course. You're my best friend, May. If you ever need help with coordinating, or anything, all you need to do is ask." Drew told her.

"Thanks, Drew." May thanked him. The two of them sat in silence before May spoke up. "You know whose fault this really is, don't you?" May asked.

"Yeah." Drew responded as he and May pulled back.

"Harley." They replied, in unison, causing May to giggle and Drew to chuckle.

"That guy has been nothing but trouble since the day I met him." May said as she rested her head on Drew's shoulder.

"Why? What did he do?" Drew asked.

"Somehow, he managed to get my brother to tell him an embarrassing story about me, so he recorded Max on tape and played it to the entire contest hall, during our final battle, to try and put me off, so that he would win." May explained. "It would have worked too, if Ash hadn't managed to snap me out of my rage and get me to focus back on the battle. Of course, I won in the end, but that started Harley's life-long hatred towards me." May told him.

"Well, I'm glad that you put Harley in his place, but I want to know more about this embarrassing story." Drew replied, smirking. May's eyes widened at his response.

"You're not serious, right?" May asked, nervously, as she lifted her head up and turned to see the serious expression on Drew's face.

"Oh, I'm very serious." Drew responded. "Come on, May. Sharing is caring." He said, fighting off a smile.

"But, you'll laugh at me." May whined, turning away. Drew grabbed her chin and turned her face towards his.

"I won't laugh, May. I promise." Drew told her, but May still didn't believe him.

"No way!" May stated as she crossed her arms.

"Alright, then. I'll just go and ask, Max. I'm sure he'll have no problem telling me." Drew said as he started to get off of the bed.

"Okay, okay, I'll tell you!" May cried, giving in, as she pulled Drew back onto the bed. "You're mean, you know that?" May told him.

"I try my best." Drew replied, jokingly, as he wrapped his left arm around her midsection and pulled her towards him. "Now, on with the story." Drew said.

"Okay, so you know how I told you that when I started out on my journey as a pokemon trainer, I didn't like pokemon at all and I just wanted an excuse to travel?" May said. Drew nodded in response. "Well, there is a reason for that. When Harley was talking to Max, he said that he used to be scared of pokemon which is why Max told him this story and how he got a hold of it." May explained.

"Alright, but what's the story?" Drew asked. May sighed, knowing she was going to have to tell Drew sooner or later.

"One day, when I was younger, Max, me, my mum and dad all went to the beach for the day. I wanted to go swimming in the sea, so I took my pink and white swimming ring and went into the water. While I was playing, two tentacool approached me and, being the little girl I was, I thought the red crystals on the side of their head were pretty, so I swam over to pet them. Suddenly, I realised that I was surrounded by a bunch of tentacool, so I yelled for my mum and dad to help. They heard my cry and were getting ready to help me, but something else happened instead. Unfortunately for me, I was wearing a blue swim cap that day, so my mum accidentally mistook me for a tentacool and actually tried to catch me." May admitted. She looked up to see Drew's reaction and saw Drew covering his mouth with his right hand before he burst out laughing.

"Well, I can see how you would be afraid of pokemon after that." Drew replied, laughing.

"Hey! You promised you wouldn't laugh!" May cried as she pouted and crossed her arms while turning her back towards Drew.

"I'm sorry. It's just that, that's the funniest thing I've ever heard!" Drew told her, truthfully.

"Hmph!" May responded.

"Aww, is May mad?" Drew asked in a baby voice as he poked her in the side, making May jerk. Drew raised an eyebrow at this and poked her, a second time, causing May to jerk, again. An evil plan formulated in Drew's mind as he began to smirk at May's back. "Is someone ticklish?" Drew asked.

"No." May lied.

"Oh really? Not even if I do this?" Drew questioned, wiggling his fingers on May's right side.

"Nope." May replied, biting her lip.

"What about this?" Drew asked, tracing his fingers over her left side.

"Mm-mm." May responded, giggling slightly.

"How about now?" Drew inquired as he pushed May back onto the bed and full on tickled her, moving his fingers all over her stomach.

"Hahaha! Stop it, Drew!" May begged.

"No way!" Drew replied, having too much fun.

"Please!" May pleaded.

"Alright, but only if you say that I'm the most handsome coordinator in the whole world and you would be nothing without me." Drew told her.

"Never!" May refused.

"Alright, then." Drew said as he continued to tickle her until she couldn't take anymore.

"Okay, okay, you're the most handsome coordinator in the whole world and I would be nothing without you!" May shouted. Drew immediately stopped tickling her.

"I knew you'd admit it someday, May. It was only a matter of time." Drew said, smugly, flicking his hair.

"Oh, shut up, Drew." May responded. "But, if you ever tell that story to another living soul, then you are going to regret it." May warned.

"Oh yeah? What are you going to do?" Drew scoffed.

"Not me, but I do have a pokemon that had a lot of fun sitting on you the last time you crossed me. I'm sure they would love to do so again." May told him. Drew's eyes widened and he shuddered as he remembered an unpleasant memory from the past.

"Done." Drew replied, quickly. May smirked at him, knowing that she had won, before she began to yawn.

"You're tired. I'll let you get some rest." Drew said to her. Just as he was about get up, May gripped his arm.

"Stay with me, please?" May asked.

"Alright, May. For you, I will." Drew agreed as he wrapped his arms around her and kissed the top of her head.

"Thank you." May replied, gratefully. She smiled at him before pecking his cheek and snuggling into his chest, making them both blush. "Goodnight, Drew." May said.

"Night, May." Drew responded.

* * *

Later, when the others came to check on May, they found May and Drew cuddled up together. May was gripping onto Drew's shirt as she laid her head on his chest and Drew had his arms tightly wrapped around May's waist as his chin rested on top of her head.

"Aww, they look so cute together!" Dawn cooed as she took a picture of the couple.

"What are you doing?" Misty asked.

"Well, I'll need some photographic blackmail in case I ever need her to do a favour," Dawn responded, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"And you're supposed to be one her best friends, Dee Dee." Kenny pointed out, shaking his head.

"Shut up, Kenny." Dawn replied.

"Come on you guys. Let's go get some sleep. We'll come and get these two in the morning." Brock said as they all went off to the rooms.

* * *

_**Hope you enjoyed it! Let me know what you thought of how May and Drew made up. Please R&amp;R!**_

_**xBandanaRosesx**_


	11. Chapter 10 - Tag Team Recovery

_**Hi guys! This chapter is about everyone and the story is now continuing on with their adventure. Enjoy!**_

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon or any of the characters**_

* * *

**Chapter 10 – Tag Team Recovery**

* * *

The next morning, May began to move about as she woke up. She blinked several times as she got used to the bright morning light. She looked around and remembered that she was in the pokemon center. She placed her left hand on the back of her head and felt the bandages that were tightly wrapped around her cranium. May felt something stir beneath her. She looked up and saw Drew sleeping peacefully. His hair was all ruffled and it was partly covering his eyes, which May thought was cute. The events of last night came flooding back to her and she smiled as she gently pushed his hair back, so that she could see his face. Drew's eyes slowly opened and he saw May smiling up at him.

"Morning, sleepyhead," May teased.

"Morning, May." Drew replied as he rubbed his eyes.

"What are we going to do today, Drew?" May asked.

"Well, you're going to stay here, while I go and get breakfast." Drew said as he picked her up and put on the left side of the bed.

"You don't have to do that. I can get it myself." May replied.

"Nope. Nurse Joy says you need to rest, so that's just what you're going to do." Drew told her, not changing his mind.

"Okay. Thanks, Drew." May thanked him.

"You're welcome." Drew replied as he walked out of the room. As soon as Drew left, May quickly got dressed, grabbed her green bandana from the bedside table and exited the room. The rooms that trainers stayed in were in the left wing of the building and the rooms that patients stayed in were in the right wing of the building. May managed to sneak through the patients' wing and reached the lobby, but she soon heard voices coming from the rooms down the hall. She quickly ducked down behind the right side of Nurse Joy's desk as Dawn and Misty's voice came into range.

"We should go and visit May. I want to go and see how she's doing. " Dawn said to Misty as she walked around the left side of Nurse Joy's desk. Just as she was about to reveal May's hiding place, Misty grabbed her arm and pulled her back.

"We can go and see her later. Plus, don't forget, Drew's with her, so I think we should give those two some alone time," Misty replied, suggestively.

"Oh yeah, good idea." Dawn responded, catching her drift. The two girls walked off, giggling, as they went to go and eat breakfast. May blushed furiously as she breathed a sigh of relief and quickly ran out of the pokemon center.

* * *

Drew had two hot bowls of porridge and two mugs of hot chocolate on a tray as he walked back to May's room to eat breakfast with her.

"Alright, May. I brought brea-" Drew started, but stopped as soon as he saw that May was gone. "That girl is so stubborn," Drew muttered, slightly annoyed, as he set the tray down on her bedside table and went to go and find May.

May walked outside and took in a deep breath as she inhaled the sweet, fresh air.

"The smell of freedom. It's so refreshing." May commented as she watched a flock of starly fly by. Drew waked around the pokemon center lobby looking for May, when he saw the shadow of a figure standing outside. He walked outside of the pokemon center and saw May watching the pokemon play about as she stood there with her arms outstretched.

'She didn't get very far.' Drew thought. He silently crept up behind her and tapped on the shoulder. May turned around and started to panic as soon as she saw Drew looking at her with a stern expression on his face.

"Oh, hi, Drew!" May beamed, laughing nervously, as she started to walk backwards. Drew matched her steps and for every step she took back, he took one towards her, the expression on his face not changing.

* * *

Meanwhile, the others were all sitting in the dining room as they ate breakfast together. Dawn sat in the middle on one side of the table with Kenny on her left side and Misty on her right side and Brock sat in the middle on the other side of the table with Ash on his left side and Max on his right side.

"So, guys, the Hearthome tag battle competition starts in a week. Ready to go?" Brock asked.

"You bet! I can't wait!" Misty cried as she banged the table with her left palm and stood up from her seat.

"Uh, Misty. You might want to sit down." Max whispered as Misty looked behind her and saw everyone in the room staring at her because of her sudden outburst. Misty turned back towards the others and sat down quietly. When the chatter in the room resumed, Ash started laughing.

"Well, someone's excited." Ash pointed out, laughing.

"Shut up, Ash." Misty retorted. "It's just that I haven't a good battle in a long time." Misty replied, truthfully.

"What about when you were the gym leader at the Cerulean gym?" Kenny questioned.

"I had a few challengers here and there, but they weren't really that challenging." Misty responded.

"Who's the most challenging opponent you've had?" Dawn asked.

"As much as I hate to admit it, I'd have to say Ash." Misty admitted. "Although, that was a really long time ago and we never got to finish our battle because of Team Rocket trying to steal our pokemon." Misty added.

"I still would have won, you know." Ash told her, smugly.

"In your dreams." Misty said.

"Oh yeah!" Ash shouted as he banged his hands on the table and stood up.

"Yeah!" Misty yelled as she banged her hands on the table and stood up. The two growled at each other as they stared the other down. There was so much tension you could literally see sparks flying between them.

"Look, we'll never know, so get over it." Brock said as he pulled the two of them down. They both crossed their arms and turned away from each other, annoyed.

"Anyway, what about May? She's going to enter too, but she has to rest." Dawn reminded them. Suddenly, Ash had an idea.

"I know. There's seven of us, including Drew, so we can each spend a day with May. We'll all teach her one thing that we think is good advice or ideas for battle and that way she doesn't miss out on training before the competition." Ash suggested.

"Wow. That's actually a great idea and it came from you." Misty replied, surprised.

"Hey! I have good ideas!" Ash retorted.

"Of course you do. Well done, Ash." Misty responded, patronisingly, as she ruffled his hair. Ash pushed Misty's hand away as he frowned at her causing her to giggle.

"You know, if we tell May that the competition is in a week, she may start to panic because she can't actually do any battle practice." Max pointed out.

"Then we don't tell her. We'll just say that we're making sure that she doesn't miss out on any training. She doesn't know when it is, so when the time comes, Drew can do the persuading." Dawn told him when suddenly, they heard a cry coming from the pokemon center lobby.

"Speaking of May." Max said as he and the others ran to the lobby to see May and Drew.

"Drew! Put me down!" May cried as she pounded Drew's back with her fists. Drew was annoyed with May for leaving her room, so when he found her he slung her over his shoulder and carried her back inside.

"Nurse Joy said you need to rest and that's what you're going to do!" Drew replied, sternly, as he walked past the others, towards May's room. The others all looked at each other and laughed at May and Drew's antics before following them to May's room. They walked in to see May sitting on her bed with her arms crossed and pouting.

"May, you're not going to get any food until lunch, so you better eat you're breakfast before it gets cold." Drew advised.

"I'm not hungry!" May replied, stubbornly, as her stomach growled. She blushed and placed her hands over her stomach as she grinned sheepishly at the others.

"Oh yeah? Tell that to your stomach," Drew teased as he sat beside her. He handed May a bowl and she reluctantly took it as she began eating.

"So, what are you guys doing here?" Drew asked.

"Well, seeing as May has to be in here for the week, we decided that each of us will spend one whole day with May. That way she won't miss out on any training." Dawn told him.

"Yep! And because it was my idea, I'm spending today with May." Ash declared.

"Aww, that's really nice of you guys!" May thanked them.

"No problem, May!" Dawn replied. "Come on, Drew. I want to talk to you about something." Dawn said as she ushered Drew out of the room and filled him in on the plan.

"Alright, well we better get going. Enjoy your day with Ash!" Misty called as she and the others left.

"What should we do, Ash?" May asked.

"Well, seeing as I'd usually be training and you can't go outside, I thought I'd bring the outside to you." Ash told her. "Pikachu, up for some training?" Ash asked.

"Pi!" 'Yeah!' Pikachu replied and hopped off of Ash's shoulder and onto the floor.

"Make sure to keep your attacks to a minimum, okay buddy?" Ash asked.

"Pika." 'Okay.' Pikachu responded.

"What are you going to do, Ash?" May inquired.

"Do you remember when I battled Fantina, I used my counter-shield move?" Ash replied.

"Oh yeah, it was really cool." May remembered.

"Well, I'm going to teach it you. Watch." Ash said. "Pikachu, use thunderbolt while spinning!" Ash commanded.

"Pika-chu!" Pikachu cried as it released a jolt of electricity. It spun around on the floor while doing so, forming an electric barrier around itself.

"Wow! It's cool and pretty!" May exclaimed.

"Yeah, it can be used for both offensive and defensive purposes. That's why I always say 'offense is the best defence'!" Ash cried. May and Ash's day continued with Ash telling May about some of his most memorable battles and showing her some of his techniques such as the counter-shield. He also told her some funny stories, such as when he dressed up as 'Ashley' for a battle.

* * *

The next day, Dawn spent the day with her. She gave her advice that would help with her contests.

"The key thing to remember for a contest is that your pokemon are the stars." Dawn said. "Zoey was actually the one who told me that long ago." Dawn told her.

"Zoey is such a cool person. I remember when I first met her." May recalled.

"Isn't she though!? Without her, I wouldn't be where I am today. I used to think that contests were all about how flashy you can make an attack, but it's how you best show off your pokemon. I lost sight of that when I first started out as a coordinator." Dawn admitted. "But, that advice works for other things as well as contests." Dawn added.

"Really? How?" May asked.

"Well, I actually won the Hearthome collection with that advice. I struggled to find a design to dress up me and my pokemon in, but then I remembered Zoey's advice and that's when the idea came to me. Buneary and I both wore plain white dresses with a blue necklace and I let Buneary's natural beauty win it for us." Dawn explained.

"That's so cool, Dawn!" May complimented. Dawn spent the rest of the day with May talking about clothes and fashion.

* * *

Max spent the third day with May. He quizzed her on pokemon types and their advantages and disadvantages.

"Electric types are bad against?" Max asked.

"Rock and ground types," May answered, confidently.

"Flying types are good against?" Max questioned.

"Bug, grass, fighting and ground types." May replied.

"Good, you're learning." Max said as he ruffled May's hair.

"Hey!" May cried. "Max, I may not be able to leave this room, but keep acting like that and when I do get better, I'll set Blaziken on you," May threatened.

"Okay, okay, I'll stop." Max agreed. Max and May spent the rest of the day talking about their dad and his battles as the Petalburg gym leader.

* * *

The next morning, Kenny got up early before he went to spend the day with May. As he got up, he saw Drew trying to sneak into the room.

"Drew? Where have you been?" Kenny asked.

"Uh, nowhere." Drew replied, blushing slightly.

"Who were you with?" Kenny questioned.

"No-one." Drew responded, quickly.

"What were you doing?" Kenny inquired.

"Nothing! Jeez, can't a guy walk into a room without being grilled!" Drew complained as he jumped into his bed and went to sleep. Kenny raised an eyebrow at his behaviour, but knew he wasn't going to get any answers out of him, so he decided to leave it. Kenny showed May how to use pokemon moves to her advantage.

"You can still have the upper hand even when your pokemon is at disadvantage. Allow me to demonstrate." Kenny said. "Hey, Ash! Can I borrow Pikachu for a minute?" Kenny asked as he stuck his head out of the door.

"Sure!" Ash called.

"Thanks!" Kenny replied as Pikachu scampered into the room. "Alright, Empoleon, hit it!" Kenny called. The large penguin pokemon appeared from its pokeball. "Okay, so seeing as Empoleon is a water type, Pikachu has the advantage, right?" Kenny reminded her. May nodded in agreement. "Pikachu, use thunderbolt!" Kenny ordered.

"Pika-chu!" Pikachu cried as it released a bolt of electricity towards Empoleon.

"Empoleon, defend with metal claw!" Kenny ordered.

"Poleon!" Empoleon roared as the blue parts on the rims of its wings glowed white. It crossed its wings in front of itself and the thunderbolt struck the metal claw. Empoleon took the attack and broke it up as it uncrossed its wings, showing it had no effect.

"Whoa, I didn't know you could do that!" May exclaimed.

"It's always possible, May. You just have to know which move to use as your defence." Kenny told her. After the pokemon demonstrations, Kenny and May spent the day talking about their experiences with Dawn.

* * *

The fifth day was Misty's turn. She advised May on how to make the best of a pokemon's qualities.

"As I'm sure you remember from my battle with Ash, my Psyduck doesn't know any water attacks, but it makes up for with its psychic attacks." Misty said.

"But, doesn't Psyduck need to have a headache first for any of its psychic abilities to work?" May asked.

"That's right, which brings me to my point. Psyduck has good endurance, so with a lot of training, we were able to work on that to make up for its lack of water type moves." Misty replied. "It's not always about pokemon types or moves in a battle. It can also be about the personality of a pokemon as well as their trainer. Ash is the type of trainer who never gives up which rubs off on his pokemon. They are strong from their training, but also because they have a strong character that won't let them give up without a fight, you see." Misty pointed out.

"I do. That's really good advice. Thanks, Misty." May responded.

"No problem, May." Misty replied. The two of them spent the rest of their time talking about the things that Misty has seen from challengers that she received while she was the gym leader of the Cerulean gym.

* * *

On the sixth day, Brock talked to May about breeding techniques.

"Now, if you want to cure a burn, then you want to use a rawst berry. It can be useful for you and for other trainers that you may battle because of Blaziken." Brock told her. May nodded and wrote it down on a notepad. "Oran berries can be used for restoring energy and pecha berries can be used to cure poison." Brock continued.

"What about if your pokemon falls asleep?" May asked, remembering her battle with Nando.

"A good question. To cure sleep, you want to use a chesto berry." Brock answered. May wrote it down and they spent the rest of the day talking about pokemon and breeding techniques.

* * *

Finally, the last day of the week came. May was excited for two reasons. One, she got to leave her room tomorrow. Two, she got to spend the whole of her last day with Drew. The two of them spent the day reminiscing about previous contest battles and rivals they have met along their journeys.

"So, how has your week been?" Drew asked.

"It's been great! It was really nice to have one-on-one sessions with everybody." May told him.

"Did you learn anything from them?" Drew questioned, testing her.

"Well, Ash taught me that offense is the best defence. Dawn told me to remember that pokemon are the stars of a contest. I now know all the pokemon type advantages and disadvantages thanks to Max." May started.

"What are the advantages and disadvantages of grass types?" Drew quizzed.

"Grass types are good against water, ground and rock types, and they are bad against poison, fire, steel and fighting types." May replied.

"Just checking. Carry on." Drew responded.

"Um, Kenny taught me how to utilise pokemon moves to my advantage. Misty told me about how to build on a pokemon's personality to help with battling and I have a lot notes about berries and pokemon diets thanks to Brock's useful breeding skills." May finished.

"Now, how do you feel about battling?" Drew asked.

"Pretty good." May replied.

"Alright, well, the tag battle competition being held here in Hearthome City starts tomorrow." Drew informed. "Want to enter?" Drew asked

"Tomorrow!? No-one told me about this! I haven't had time to train!" May cried.

"May, what do you think everyone's being doing this whole week? They knew you'd be upset if you didn't get the chance to enter because you had to stay in bed all week, so they all trained you." Drew told her.

"I guess. I'm not sure if I'm ready though…" May trailed off, unsure. Drew thought about how to convince May, when an idea came to him.

"Oh, I get it. You're scared." Drew said.

"What!? No, I'm not!" May protested.

"Well, the May I know doesn't back away from a challenge which is what you just did." Drew pointed out.

"You know what! I take it back! Sign me up!" May demanded. Drew smirked inwardly, knowing his plan worked.

"Well, I don't actually need to." Drew told her.

"Why?" May asked.

"I already signed you up," Drew admitted, coolly. He kissed May goodnight, on the cheek, and walked out of the room. He waited outside and let his words sink in.

"Hey!" May shouted. Drew chuckled, knowing how May would react. "Night, Drew!" May called.

"Night, May!" Drew replied. He walked off to his room and May turned off the light in hers.

*15 Minutes Later*

May's room door quietly opened as Drew crept inside and silently closed the door behind him. As the door clicked shut, the room light turned on and Drew froze in his place.

"Drew? What are you doing?" May asked.

"Uh, I just came to check on you," Drew lied as he turned around to face May.

"Drew, you just the spent the whole day with me. Now, tell me why you're really here," May demanded. Drew sighed, knowing that May would get it out of him eventually.

"Okay, look. The truth is, I've been sneaking into your room every night for the past week and I've slept next to you on the bed. Then, in the morning, I would get up earlier and sneak back to my room, so you would never know." Drew admitted, blushing.

"Why?" May questioned.

"Well, you're my best friend, May. Knowing that you're okay helps me to sleep easier." Drew told her.

"Aww, Drew, that's so sweet!" May cooed. "But, I already know." May confessed.

"Huh!? You already knew?" Drew replied, confused.

"Of course I did. You didn't really think I wouldn't notice, did you? How much of a heavy sleeper do you think I am?" May told him.

"Er, well, I guess I never really thought about it." Drew responded. "But, if you knew, then why didn't you say anything?" Drew inquired.

"Uh, well…" May trailed off, blushing as she looked down. "I kinda liked it when you were here with me. It made feel safe and protected." May admitted, playing with her fingers, nervously. Drew smiled at her shyness and went to go and sit next to her on the bed. Once Drew sat down on the bed, May crawled over him and sat between his legs as she laid against his chest.

"Uh, May, what are you doing?" Drew asked, blushing madly.

"Well, my neck hurts from having to stretch my neck to the side all the time, so I wanted to lean my head back tonight. You don't mind, do you?" May questioned as she tilted her head back to see his face. Drew looked at her little innocent face and found himself unable to refuse.

"No, I don't mind." Drew replied as May laid back against him and he wrapped his arms around her waist.

"Thank you, Drew," May whispered.

"For what?" Drew asked.

"For being my best friend." May replied, placing her hands on top of his, blushing slightly.

"No, thank you, May." Drew responded.

"What for?" May questioned.

"For being you." Drew told her as he removed his hands from under hers. He placed his hands on top of hers and rubbed his thumbs across the backs of her hands. May and Drew closed their eyes and revelled in the comfortable silence that had fallen upon them, wishing that every day could be like this.

'Maybe one day.' They both hoped.

"Goodnight, Drew," May whispered.

"Goodnight, May," Drew whispered back as he laid back against the pillow. May flicked the light switch off and the two of them went to sleep.

* * *

The next morning, the gang headed to the stadium to compete in the tag battle competition.

"I can't wait! This is gonna be great!" Ash cheered.

"Pika!" 'Yeah!' Pikachu exclaimed. Ash walked in front of the group, excited about battling.

"Look out, look out, look out!" Someone warned.

"Wha- Aaaah!" Ash screamed as someone ran in to him and knocked him over.

"Ash!" Misty cried, helping him up.

"Ugh," Ash groaned, holding his head.

"Alright, that's it! You're going to pay a fine for running into me!" The other person shouted. "Huh? Ash!" The person called.

"Hmm, Barry! What are you doing here?" Ash asked.

"Well, I came back to Sinnoh to enter the Sinnoh League and seeing as I'm here, I decided to enter the tag battle competition." Barry told him. "What about you?" Barry asked.

"Same reason as you, but I'm here with more of my friends this time." Ash pointed out. Barry followed Ash's gaze and saw the people he was talking about.

"Hey, Kenny!" Barry called as he walked over to Kenny and gave him a hi-five. "Brock and Dawn too!" Barry cried.

"Good to see you, Barry." Brock replied.

"Hi, Barry, how are you?" Dawn greeted.

"I'm pretty good." Barry responded. "Who are all these people?" Barry inquired.

"Oh, right. This is Misty, May, her little brother Max and Drew." Ash informed as he pointed to each person respectively. Barry and the others all greeted each other before they all walked to the stadium together.

* * *

When they got there, they saw all the other people who were competing. In total, there were 32 competitors all gathered in the stadium, ready to compete in the tournament.

"Wow! This is so awesome!" Barry exclaimed.

"You bet!" Ash replied. Then, a man in a blue suit and navy blue top hat with a red bowtie walked out onto the stage.

"Hello trainers and welcome to the Hearthome City tag battle competition. I'm your MC, Enta, the Hearthome City mayor, and I will be your host over the course of the next three days. Hearthome City is known as the place where hearts meet, connecting the hearts of people and pokemon alike, so I want to see that burning spirit!" Enta encouraged. "Now, make sure you all have your registration cards." Enta told them as each competitor took out their card with a number on it. "On this computer screen, everyone's card number will be listed. Find your number and the number right next to yours. This will be your tag battle partner throughout the competition." Enta informed. "Alright, time to see who's who!" Enta cried as he hit a big red button. All the numbers appeared on the screen, revealing everyone's partner.

"Okay, I'm number 13 and my partner is number 17. Who's number 17?" Drew wondered as his eyes were suddenly covered by a pair of hands.

"Guess who?" Someone asked, giggling. Drew smiled, knowing who it was.

"Hello, May." Drew replied, removing May's hands, as he turned around to face her.

"Aww, you could have at least pretended." May pouted, crossing her arms.

"Now, where would the fun be in that?" Drew teased, smirking. May looked at him with an unamused expression on her face and punched him in the arm, making him chuckle. Meanwhile, Brock was busy trying to find his partner.

"My partner is number 16. Alright, then. I'm number 10 looking for number 16!" Brock called. "Maybe it'll be babe like last time!" Brock hoped.

"Uh, I don't think so." Someone said. Brock looked down and saw Max looking at him. The only babes you'll be seeing are with other guys." Max told him as he pointed out all the other guys in the stadium.

"Oh man…" Brock replied as he sunk to his knees, upset, while Max shook his head at him. Elsewhere, Misty was looking for her tag battle partner.

"Number 12, so where's number 8?" Misty asked. Suddenly, a pikachu jumped into her arms, holding up the number 8. "Hi, Pikachu." Misty said, as she looked up to find none other than Ash.

"Well, Mist. Looks like we're partners." Ash told her.

"I guess so." Misty replied. "Let's do our best and win!" Misty cried.

"You got it!" Ash responded as he gave Misty a hi-five.

"Pika!" 'Yes!' Pikachu cheered. Dawn looked on as she watched everyone find their partners.

"Almost everyone has found their partner. Who's mine?" Dawn questioned.

"Well, well, Dawn. Looks like we meet again." A creepy voice whispered from behind causing chills to travel up Dawn's spine.

"Oh, hi, Conway. What are you doing here?" Dawn asked as she hid her number behind her back.

"Just learning everything I can about other trainers. You can never have too much data." Conway told her. "So, what number do you have there?" Conway asked as he tried to peek at Dawn's number.

"Uh…" Dawn replied, nervously, not wanting to be his partner. Kenny, however, had already found his partner.

"Man, how lucky is it that we're partners." Barry said.

"I know." Kenny agreed. He looked around the stadium and spotted Dawn having trouble with a guy. Kenny saw that the guy with her was holding number 15, so he checked the computer screen and assumed that she was number 11. He spotted his own pairing and saw that he was number 9 while Barry was number 14. Kenny knew she needed help, so he came up with an idea.

"Hey, Barry. I need you to do me a massive favour!" Kenny pleaded.

"What is it?" Barry asked. Kenny whispered his plan in Barry's ear. Being best friends, Kenny and Barry had become close over the past couple years, so he already knew of Kenny's feelings for Dawn.

"But, I wanted to be your partner," Barry whined.

"Please!?" Kenny begged.

"Well, alright, but you owe me one!" Barry told him.

"Totally. Thanks, man." Kenny thanked him as he walked over to Dawn and Conway.

"Hi, Dawn. Who's this?" Kenny asked.

"Oh, this is Conway." Dawn introduced.

"Pleased to make your acquaintance." Conway greeted.

"Likewise." Kenny replied. While Conway was distracted, Barry sneaked behind Dawn and quickly switched their numbers.

"So, Dawn, what number are you?" Conway asked. Dawn sighed, knowing there was nothing she could do.

"I'm… number 14?" Dawn said, confused.

"Oh, what a shame. Looks like we won't be partners this time." Conway responded.

"Yep, Dawn's my partner." Kenny informed Conway as he slung an arm over Dawn's shoulder. A subtle look of anger and jealousy crossed Conway's face.

"Well then, who's my partner?" Conway inquired.

"That would be me!" Barry called running over to them. "Barry's the name." Barry introduced as he and Conway walked off to talk about strategy. As soon as they were out of sight, Dawn looked at Kenny suspiciously.

"What?" Kenny asked.

"You did this, didn't you?" Dawn accused.

"Huh!? No I didn't!" Kenny protested, not wanting Dawn to know.

"Kenny." Dawn warned. Kenny saw the serious look in Dawn's eyes and feared what she might do to him.

"Alright, alright, I did." Kenny confessed. Dawn narrowed her eyes at him before smiling brightly and hugging him tightly. Kenny blinked in shock, taken aback by her actions.

"You really saved my skin. Conway can be a real creep." Dawn told Kenny, releasing him from the hug. Dawn continued to tell Kenny about Conway as the other people in the stadium found their partners. The group gathered together with their partners as they waited to battle.

"Alright, here's the match-ups for the first round!" Enta announced. The computer shuffled all the pictures and revealed the pairs. May and Drew, Ash and Misty and Brock and Max were all going against random pairs, but Dawn and Kenny found that they were paired up against Barry and Conway.

"Well, well, Dawn. Looks like you and I will be going against each other." Conway said, lifting his glasses up and down. Dawn looked at Kenny and he smirked at her in reassurance. She nodded at him in response as she looked back towards Conway.

"Bring it on." Dawn replied, determined.

* * *

_**Hope you enjoyed it! The next chapter will be the start of the tag battle competition. Please R&amp;R!**_

_**xBandanaRosesx**_


	12. Chapter 11 - First Round Elimination

_**Hi guys! Sorry about taking so long to update, I've had mocks and a lot of work to do. To answer my reviewer's questions - I have been focusing on Contestshipping at the moment, but I will focus on the other shippings later. However, I'm afraid there won't be any pairings as of yet, they will come later on. As for the length of the story, this will continue until after the Sinnoh League and Sinnoh Grand Festival, so there are quite a few chapters to go still. Plus, I will bring other characters into the story along the way, such as Brianna and Zoey, so look out for that. Okay, now that that's over with, let's get on with the story.**_

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon or any of the characters**_

* * *

**Chapter 11 – First Round Elimination**

* * *

"Alright, now it's time to get the battles underway. Our first battle in the A block will be the team of Dawn and Kenny against the team of Barry and Conway." Enta announced.

"Pachirisu, spotlight!" Dawn called out as the white and blue squirrel pokemon appeared from its pokeball.

"Floatzel, hit it!" Kenny instructed as the orange otter pokemon appeared from its pokeball.

"Hmm, a pachirisu and floatzel, eh? He he he, the data has been collected and now it's time to win this battle," Conway chuckled, confidently. "Alright, Slowking, time to make an appearance!" Conway commanded as a pink, royal pokemon, with a shellder crown atop its head, appeared from its pokeball.

"This is too easy," Barry said, cockily. "Roserade, let's show them!" Barry ordered.

"Another Roserade? These people sure do love their grass-types." Drew commented as he released his green rose pokemon from its pokeball.

"Rose?" 'What?' Roserade asked, confused.

"I want you to watch the battle with this other Roserade. It's always good to see how strong opponents may be." Drew told his pokemon.

"Rose." 'Okay.' Roserade agreed as it hopped on top of the wall and sat down with its legs dangling over the side.

"Hi Roserade!" May greeted, happily. Roserade turned towards May and a smile instantly appeared on its face.

"Rose!" Roserade replied as it waved its red rose hand at May. May's face lit up in remembrance and she whispered something to Roserade, making them giggle as they both looked at Drew.

"What?" Drew asked.

"Oh nothing…" May trailed off as she turned to face the battle. "…Mr Rose." May muttered quietly, but loud enough so that Drew could hear. She looked at him out of the corner of her eye and saw a red blush present on Drew's face.

"I thought you'd forgotten about that." Drew mumbled.

"Aw, is Drew all embarrassed?" May questioned in a baby voice as she pinched his left cheek with her right hand.

"May!" Drew whined as he pulled away and crossed his arms, turning away from her.

"I'm just kidding, Drew." May responded, giggling, as she hugged him from the side, increasing Drew's blush. Drew looked over at Roserade who looked at him with knowing eyes. He glared at Roserade who simply turned towards the battle with a smirk on its face. May let go of Drew and turned back to the battle while Drew flicked his hair as he regained his composure and concentrated on the battle at hand.

"Pachirisu, use discharge!" Dawn called out.

"Chi!" Pachirisu yelled as its cheeks began to release light blue sparks and it fired multiple light blue beams of electricity.

"Floatzel, use aqua jet!" Kenny instructed.

"Floa!" Floatzel roared as its body became surrounded by water and it shot up into the air like a rocket and aimed straight for Roserade and Slowking. The electricity beams from the discharge fused with the aqua jet forming a powerful water and electric fusion move.

"Whoa, look at that. The two opposing energies come together to create one awesome move!" Misty commented, in awe.

"Right. Two moves from opposite types can form great combinations. They work especially well in contests. In fact, I used a fire and water combo against Drew in the Kanto Grand Festival." May told her.

"Yeah, I have to say, it definitely caught me off guard." Drew admitted. Misty nodded in understanding as they all turned back to the battle.

"Slowking, use psychic!" Conway commanded.

"Slow!" Slowking bellowed as its eyes began to glow light blue and surrounded Floatzel, stopping the attack from reaching its target.

"No way! How did Slowking control that fusion move so easily!?" Max questioned, shocked.

"Slowking is a very powerful pokemon." Brock replied.

"Beautifly could learn a thing or two from Slowking. I've got to work hard if I want Beautifly's psychic to be that powerful." May added.

"Roserade, use weather ball!" Barry ordered.

"Rose-rade!" Roserade shouted as it held its arms up and created an orange ball with fire streams around it. It threw the ball towards Floatzel knocking it back into Pachirisu.

"Rose…" Roserade trailed off in awe.

"Now, that's a move we should learn, Roserade." Drew told his pokemon. Roserade nodded in response.

"Hey Brock, weather ball can change in different conditions, right?" Ash asked.

"Right. Since this is an open stadium, weather ball became a fire-type move due to the sunny conditions. If it rains it becomes a water-type move, if it hails it becomes an ice-type move, if there is a sandstorm it becomes a rock-type move and if there is no weather condition in place then it becomes a normal-type move." Brock answered before turning his attention back to the battle.

"Pachirisu, use sweet kiss!" Dawn called out.

"Chipa!" Pachirisu yelled as it blew kisses at its opponents, releasing a barrage of pink hearts.

"Roserade, use poison jab!" Barry ordered.

"Rade!" Roserade shouted as the flowers on the ends of its arms began to glow purple and it struck each of the pink hearts, destroying them.

"Quick, use spark!" Dawn called out.

"Chipa Chi!" Pachirisu yelled as blue sparks appeared on its cheeks and it became surrounded by light blue electricity as it descended upon Slowking.

"Slow!" Slowking cried out as it was shocked by the super effective move.

"Slowking, are you alright?" Conway asked, worried. Slowking nodded its head in response. "How clever. Distracting me with a sweet kiss while using the hearts as platforms to quickly get over here unnoticed. Interesting." Conway commented as he adjusted his glasses.

"Floatzel, use razor wind!" Kenny instructed.

"Float-zel!" Floatzel roared as the two fins on its arms began to glow white and it swung them, releasing multiple crescents towards Roserade.

"Jump and use sweet scent, Roserade!" Barry ordered.

"Rose!" Roserade shouted as it dodged the razor wind and held out its arms as it released a light pink powder from its flowers. The powder hit Floatzel causing it to faint for a moment.

"Now, use mega drain!" Barry ordered.

"Roserade!" Roserade shouted as it stuck out its arms and released a green beam from the flowers on its hands at Floatzel.

"Floa!" Floatzel cried out as its energy was being drained.

"Rose!" Drew's Roserade suddenly cried out as jumped up.

"Do you want to learn sweet scent, Roserade?" May asked.

"Rose." Roserade replied, determined.

"I agree. Coupled with your mega drain, it would be an effective combination that could come in handy in contest battles." May responded.

"How did you know what Roserade was saying?" Drew asked, curious.

"We've known each other long enough to have that sort of connection. We talk about loads of things when you aren't around, right Roserade?" May told Drew.

"Rose." Roserade answered.

"Like what?" Drew inquired. May simply tapped her nose in response while winking at Roserade. Drew raised an eyebrow, but decided to leave it for now.

"Dawn, Floatzel hasn't got much energy left." Kenny told her. Dawn thought for a moment when an idea came to her.

"I have an idea." Dawn told him as she whispered her plan into his ear. "Pachirisu, get going!" Dawn called out.

"Chipa!" Pachirisu yelled as it began to sprint towards Roserade and Slowking.

"Slowking, use water pulse!" Conway commanded.

"King!" Slowking bellowed as it raised its hands and a blue ball of energy formed in between them. It threw the ball of water towards Pachirisu.

"Super fang!" Dawn called out.

"Chi-pa!" Pachirisu yelled as its two front teeth began to glow white and they grew longer. It bit into the water pulse, obliterating it as it continued to run.

"Floatzel, use ice fang!" Kenny instructed.

"Floa!" Floatzel roared as its fangs began to glow light blue and it released two light blue beams of energy at Pachirisu. The ice beam began to surround Pachirisu until it formed an ice ball around it.

"Now, use discharge!" Dawn called out.

"Chi!" Pachirisu yelled as its cheeks began to release light blue sparks and it fired multiple light blue beams of electricity inside of the ice ball, making it glow beautifully.

"Gorgeous!" May cried as she gripped onto the wall and leaned forward.

'Just like you.' Drew thought as he looked at May, smiling.

"Chipa!" Pachirisu yelled as it sped up and slammed into Roserade and Slowking, knocking them back.

"Roserade, use weather ball!" Barry ordered.

"Rose-rade!" Roserade shouted as it held its arms up and created an orange ball with fire streams around it. It threw the ball towards Floatzel.

"Floatzel, use razor wind!" Kenny instructed.

"Float-zel!" Floatzel roared as the two fins on its arms began to glow white and it swung them, releasing multiple crescents towards the fiery ball, creating an explosion causing smoke to spread across the battlefield.

"Aqua jet!" Kenny instructed.

"Floa!" Floatzel roared as its body became surrounded by water and it shot up into the air like a rocket and aimed straight for Roserade and Slowking.

"Slowking, use protect!" Conway commanded.

"Slowking!" Slowking bellowed as it jumped in front of Roserade and a light green barrier surrounded both pokemon.

"Floatzel, finish this with whirlpool!" Kenny instructed as the smoke disappeared, revealing Floatzel to be standing behind Roserade and Slowking.

"Floatzel!" Floatzel roared as it raised its arms and a large whirlpool appeared above its head.

"Behind you!" Barry and Conway cried. As the pokemon turned around, there was no time left to counteract as they saw the whirlpool coming towards them and they became trapped in it.

"Pachirisu, discharge, once more!" Dawn called out.

"Chi!" Pachirisu yelled as its cheeks began to release light blue sparks and it fired multiple light blue beams of electricity, surrounding the whirlpool in electrical energy while shocking both pokemon inside. After the discharged whirlpool subsided, both of the opposing pokemon fell to the ground, knocked out, with swirls in their eyes.

"Slowking and Roserade are unable to battle. Pachirisu and Floatzel win! Which means the victors are Dawn and Kenny!" The referee declared.

"And there you have it folks! Our winners of the first battle have been decided!" Enta announced as the crowd broke out into cheers and applause. Dawn and Kenny looked at each other and grinned, happily.

"Thanks, Roserade. Take a good rest." Barry said as he returned his pokemon to its pokeball.

"An excellent battle, Slowking. Thank you." Conway told his pokemon as he returned it to its pokeball.

"That was a great battle." Max commented.

"It sure was. Dawn and Kenny make a great team and they really showed off their contest skills. Misty added as Dawn and Kenny walked over to them.

"That was an awesome finishing move!" Ash praised.

"Hey, thanks, but it was Dawn's idea." Kenny admitted.

"Nonsense. I couldn't have done it without you." Dawn told him, smiling.

"Well, those were some impressive combinations you used." Brock added.

"Yeah, well you just watch. Drew and I will outshine their combinations with some of our own." May told them, determined. "Isn't that right, Drew?" May asked.

"You got that right." Drew replied, confidently, as he looked up at the board. "We're up next. Let's go, May." Drew said as he and May left for the battlefield.

"Good luck!" Misty called out after them.

* * *

As May and Drew took their places on one side of the battlefield, they had a look at their opponents. They were going against a big, muscly guy and a tall, slender young woman. The guy had a tan complexion with short black hair. He was wearing a black sleeveless muscle shirt with white trousers and black trainers. The girl had a pale complexion with dark brown hair tied up in a high ponytail. She was wearing a short sleeved violet coloured dress that ended mid-thigh. It had a v-shaped neckline and a red belt across the waist. This was accompanied by a pair of black flats.

Our next battle, in the B block, will be the team of May and Drew against the team of Chad and Louise." Enta announced.

"Glaceon, take the stage!" May called out. The light and dark blue quadruped mammalian pokemon appeared from its pokeball.

"Absol, let's go!" Drew commanded. The white and dark blue quadruped, mammalian pokemon appeared from its pokeball.

"Machamp, let's beat them!" Chad ordered. The bluish grey bipedal, humanoid pokemon appeared from its pokeball.

"Milotic, grace us with your presence!" Louise instructed. The cream and pink aquatic, serpentine pokemon appeared from its pokeball.

"Cool! A Machamp!" Kenny shouted. "Hey Machoke, check this out!" Kenny called out his grey bipedal, humanoid pokemon.

"Choke?" 'Huh?' Machoke said.

"Look, Machoke. That's what you're going to evolve into, so I want you to watch this Machamp battle and then we can see what we need to work on." Kenny told his pokemon.

"Ma." 'Okay.' Machoke agreed.

"Machamp, use dynamic punch!" Chad ordered.

"Ma!" Machamp roared as all four of its fists became surrounded in a bluish-white aura and it ran towards Absol.

"Absol, use iron tail!" Drew commanded.

"Ab-sol!" Absol bellowed as it jumped up and its whole tail began to glow white as it descended upon Machamp. Just as the attacks were about to collide, Louise cut in with a last minute attack.

"Milotic, use twister!" Louise instructed.

"Lo-tic!" Milotic cried as an orb of wind appeared in front of its tail and it released a tornado. The tornado wrapped itself around the dynamic punch, giving it extra power as it collided with Absol's iron tail. Absol persisted, but was knocked back by the force of the dynamic punch and twister combination.

"That girl is sneaky." Drew commented. May thought about an attack combo to retaliate with when an idea suddenly came to mind.

"Drew, when they attack, get Absol to use water pulse." May whispered. Drew nodded in response, having faith in May.

"Milotic, use dragon pulse!" Louise instructed.

"Lo!" Milotic cried as its body became outlined in light green and it released a pulse off of its body.

"Machamp, use low sweep!" Chad ordered.

"Machamp!" Machamp roared as it delivered a low kick towards it opponents. It struck the dragon pulse, gaining extra energy to power up its kick as it got closer and closer to Glaceon and Absol.

"Glaceon, stand next to Absol!" May called out. Glaceon complied with its trainer's orders and ran over to Absol.

"Absol, use water pulse!" Drew commanded.

"Absol!" Absol bellowed as its body became outlined in blue and it released a large water tornado around itself and Glaceon.

"Glaceon, spin and use ice beam on the water pulse!" May called out.

"Gla!" Glaceon shouted as it opened its mouth and a light blue ball formed in front of it. It then began to spin on its tail as it fired a light blue beam all around, freezing the water tornado and forming an ice barricade around the two pokemon. Machamp hit the ice barrier with its low kick, but it didn't have much effect.

"Machamp, use karate chop continuously until you break through the ice!" Chad ordered.

'Perfect.' May thought.

"Champ champ champ!" Machamp roared as it repeatedly attacked the ice with its hands.

"Glaceon, use shadow ball!" May called out.

"Glace!" Glaceon shouted as it opened its mouth and formed a black and purple orb in front of it. It jumped up and fired two balls of energy at the opposing pokemon. Drew, catching on to what May was doing, added an attack of his own.

"Absol, use razor wind!" Drew commanded.

"Ab-sol!" Absol bellowed as the scythe on its head began to glow white. It jumped up and swung its head forward, sending out two white crescent blades of energy. The razor wind fused with the shadow ball, increasing the speed of the attack. Machamp, being preoccupied with the ice, didn't notice the move coming towards it and was struck head on.

"Champ!" Machamp cried out in pain.

"Oh no, Machamp!" Chad yelled.

"Dodge and use hydro pump!" Louise instructed.

"Tic!" Milotic cried as it narrowly missed the shadow ball and razor wind attack and blasted a powerful jet of water from its mouth. The hydro pump hit the shadow ball and sent it flying back towards Glaceon, knocking it back. Louise smirked at May causing May to grit her teeth in annoyance.

"Don't let her get to you. She's just trying to get under your skin." Drew advised.

"Right." May replied. "Glaceon, start running forward!" May called out.

"Gla!" Glaceon shouted as it sprinted towards Milotic.

"Milotic, use dragon pulse!" Louise instructed.

"Lo!" Milotic cried as its body became outlined in light green and it released a pulse off of its body.

"Jump and use secret power!" May called out.

"Glaceon!" Glaceon shouted as it jumped up and descended upon Milotic as its body began to glow sparkling pink. It slammed into Milotic causing paralysis.

"Now, use shadow ball!" May called out.

"Glace!" Glaceon shouted as it opened its mouth and formed a black and purple orb in front of it. It fired the attack at Milotic before jumping back to its side on the battlefield. The attack did quite a bit of damage since it was at close range.

"Milotic, use aqua ring!" Louise instructed.

"Lo!" Milotic cried as water droplets formed around its body and they combined together to create three rings of water that surrounded its body, healing itself in the process.

"Wow! That milotic is absolutely beautiful!" Misty cried, eyes sparkling. "Look at the way its body glistens and shines. It's so graceful yet really powerful at the same time." Misty described.

"Misty, you're not supposed to be supporting the enemy." Dawn pointed out.

"Sorry, but it's just such an amazing water pokemon that I don't have yet." Misty admitted. Ash looked over at Misty and smiled while making a mental note.

"Absol, use razor wind!" Drew commanded.

"Ab-sol!" Absol bellowed as the scythe on its head began to glow white. It and swung its head forward, sending out a white crescent blade of energy. It struck Machamp and sent it flying back into Milotic, putting an end to its recovery.

"Ready to finish this, May?" Drew asked.

"Yeah." May responded.

"Absol, use flash!" Drew commanded.

"Sol!" Absol bellowed as the black circle on its forehead began to shine brightly, giving off a bright light causing Chad, Louise and their pokemon to shield their eyes from the blinding attack.

"Iron tail!" May and Drew commanded, in unison.

"Gla-ce! Ab-sol!" Glaceon and Absol shouted as they ran through the flash and jumped up. Their entire tails began to glow white as they descended upon Milotic and Machamp and struck them, respectively. The two pokemon jumped back to reveal that the opposing pokemon had fainted from the attack.

"Machamp and Milotic are unable to battle. Glaceon and Absol win! Which mean the victors are May and Drew!" The referee declared.

"Well, folks, that's our second battle over with as the winners have been decided!" Enta announced as the audience broke out into cheers and applause.

"Alright!" May and Drew cheered as they hi-fived each other.

"Great work, Machamp." Chad said as he returned his pokemon to its pokeball.

"You were wonderful, Milotic." Louise thanked her pokemon as she returned it to its pokeball. She looked up to see May smirking at her before walking off in a huff.

"What a great battle. Those two used some really great combinations." Kenny commented.

"Plus, they work so well together. They were in perfect sync and they know just what the other is thinking." Dawn added as May and Drew walked over to them.

"Hey May, you two were fantastic!" Misty complimented.

"Thanks, you guys." May replied as the gang continued to watch the battles.

"I have to say, May, that defence combination of yours was pretty good." Drew told her. May thought he was mocking her and when she turned towards him, she saw the pure honesty in his eyes.

"Thanks, Drew." May replied, slightly blushing from the compliment.

"Well, Brock and I have to get going. See ya later" Max said as he and Brock headed for the battlefield.

* * *

Max and Brock got ready and faced their opponents. They were going against an average young boy and a skinny, young girl. The boy had a slight tan complexion and spiked up brown hair. He wore a light blue t-shirt with brown khaki shorts and white trainers. The girl had a pale complexion and blonde hair, which went down to mid-back, which was held back by a pink hairband. She was wearing a long sleeved white button-up shirt and a pink knee-length skirt with black tights and white hi-tops.

"Okay, now it's time for our battle in the G block. The battle will be between the team of Max and Brock against Sam and Anna." Enta announced.

"Munchlax, come on out!" Max instructed. The round, teal and cream pokemon appeared from its pokeball. Max had always wanted a munchlax of his own ever since his travels with Ash, Brock and May when he was younger. He spent quite a lot of time with May's Munchlax and had a taken a liking to it, so when he finally became a pokemon trainer, the first pokemon he caught was a munchlax.

"Crobat, I need your help!" Brock ordered. The purple bat pokemon appeared from its pokeball.

"Magmar, go!" Sam commanded. The red and yellow bipedal pokemon appeared from its pokeball.

"Bibarel, out here on the double!" Anna called out. The brown beaver pokemon appeared from its pokeball.

"Hey Ash, can I look at your pokedex?" Misty asked.

"Sure." Ash said as he took his red Sinnoh pokedex out of his back pocket and handed it to Misty. She opened it up and looked for the entry on Bibarel.

'Bibarel, the Beaver Pokémon. It dams up rivers to make a nest and is well known as a hard worker.'

"Munchlax, use focus punch!" Max instructed.

"Munch!" Munchlax shouted as its fist began to glow light blue and it charged towards Bibarel.

"Magmar, use flamethrower!" Sam commanded.

"Mag!" Magmar bellowed as its eyes began to glow orange and it released a red-orange stream of fire, from its mouth, towards Munchlax.

"Crobat, use whirlwind!" Brock ordered.

"Ro!" Crobat screeched as it flapped its wings at high speed and a strong gust of wind was created, pushing back the flamethrower and allowing Munchlax to land its hit on Bibarel.

"Barel!" Bibarel cried as it was knocked back by the super effective move.

"Bibarel, use take down!" Anna called.

"Bi-barel!" Bibarel yelled as its body became surrounded in white and it quickly slammed into Munchlax, but it didn't do much damage.

"Crobat, use supersonic!" Brock ordered.

"Cro!" Crobat screeched as it released multiple thin light blue circles from its mouth at Magmar and Bibarel causing them to hold their ears in pain.

"Munchlax, use metronome!" Max instructed.

"Munchlax munchlax." Munchlax said as it raised its hands and waved its fingertips back and forth until they started to glow white. A powerful hydro pump attack was produced and struck Magmar, sending it flying back into the wall.

"Bibarel, use super fang!" Anna called out.

"Bi!" Bibarel yelled as it managed to overcome the supersonic and jumped up as its front teeth began to glow white and it bit down on Crobat's wing, stopping the supersonic attack.

"Keep a hold of Crobat, Bibarel!" Anna called out.

"Try and shake it off, Crobat!" Brock ordered. As Crobat struggled to free itself from Bibarel's grip, Max tried to help out his teammate.

"Munchlax, use solar beam!" Max instructed.

"Munch-lax!" Munchlax shouted as it gathered white streaks of energy in its mouth and fired a white beam at Bibarel.

"Bibarel, dodge it!" Anna called out.

"Bi-barel!" Bibarel yelled as it swung itself around, so that Crobat was in the line of the fire. As the solar beam hit Crobat in the back, Bibarel released its grip on Crobat. On the other side of the battlefield, Magmar was still standing, so Sam decided to make use of his opportunity.

"Magmar, use fire blast!" Sam commanded.

"Mag-mar!" Magmar bellowed as it took in a deep breath and released a powerful **大** shaped blast of orange fire, from its mouth, at Munchlax. Munchlax was too preoccupied with helping out its partner, that it didn't notice the attack coming towards it. The fire blast engulfed Munchlax in flames and left a burn after-effect.

"Mun!" Munchlax cried out in pain.

"Ah, Munchlax, no!" Max cried.

"Crobat, use wing attack!" Brock ordered.

"Cro!" Crobat screeched as its four wings began to glow white and it flew towards Bibarel.

"Magmar, use skull bash!" Sam commanded.

"Mar!" Magmar bellowed as it hurtled itself at Crobat and headbutted it, intercepting its attack.

"Munchlax, use focus punch!" Max instructed.

"Munch!" Munchlax shouted as its fist began to glow light blue and it charged towards Bibarel.

"Bibarel, use ice beam!" Anna called out.

"Biba!" Bibarel yelled as a light blue ball formed in front of its mouth and light blue beams were released from the ball, aiming at Munchlax.

"Dodge it!" Max instructed. Munchlax just about moved out of the way, but its left hand was struck by the ice beam and became frozen. Max gritted his teeth in annoyance.

"Max and Brock aren't doing too well. Plus, Max is getting frustrated which won't help anything." May observed. "Come on, Max! Think carefully and focus on the battle!" May encouraged. Max looked over at her and smiled, a plan already formulating in his mind.

"Munchlax, use solar beam!" Max instructed.

"Mun!" Munchlax shouted as it began charging up for the solar beam attack.

"Magmar, use flamethrower!" Sam commanded.

'I thought so.' Max thought.

"Mag!" Magmar bellowed as its eyes began to glow orange and it released a red-orange stream of fire, from its mouth, towards Munchlax.

"Munchlax, duck and stick your left arm in the air!" Max instructed. Munchlax complied with its trainer's orders and ducked under the flamethrower while leaving its left arm in the air. The power of the flamethrower caused the ice on Munchlax's hand to melt straight away.

"Brock, we need to end this before our pokemon run out of steam." Max told his teammate.

"Agreed." Brock replied. "Crobat, use sonic boom!" Brock ordered.

"Ro!" Crobat screeched as it flapped its wings extremely fast and a cyclone of wind and white circles came out and hit Magmar and Bibarel, pushing them backwards.

"Munchlax, giga impact!" Max instructed.

"Munchlax!" Munchlax shouted as its body became surrounded by orange energy and it burst into a purple orb that became surrounded by swirling orange streaks. It charged straight towards Magmar and Bibarel and smashed them into the wall, knocking them out.

"Magmar and Bibarel and unable to battle. Munchlax and Crobat win! Which means the victors are Max and Brock!" The referee declared.

"There are our winners of the penultimate battle!" Enta announced as the audience broke out into cheers and applause. Max and Brock looked each other and gave a thumbs up.

"Magmar, you did great. Thanks." Sam said, slightly disappointed, as he returned his pokemon to its pokeball.

"You were just fantastic, Bibarel." Anna thanked her pokemon as she gave it a hug and returned it to its pokeball.

"Wow, what an amazing battle!" Dawn cried.

"I didn't know Munchlax knew giga impact. Such power from such a small pokemon." Ash commented as Max and Brock walked in.

"Well done, Max!" May cried as she ran over to Max and hugged him.

"Thanks. I couldn't have done it without your encouragement, May." Max replied as he hugged May back.

"Nice work, Brocko." Ash said as he walked up to Brock and hi-fived him.

"Thanks, Ash." Brock responded.

"Well, make sure you guys are watching because you are about to witness an awesome battle!" Ash exclaimed. "Come on, Mist." Ash called as he and Misty ran off towards the battlefield.

* * *

As Ash and Misty prepared themselves for battle, they took a glance at their opponents. There were against a short, old man and a middle-aged, slim woman. The old man had a slight tan complexion with white hair on the sides of his head and the top of his head bald. He also had a white moustache and beard. He wore a navy blue robe with black trousers and white Japanese slippers. The woman had a pale complexion with red-brown wavy, shoulder-length hair. She wore a short-sleeved turquoise cardigan on top of a gold colour t-shirt. She accompanied this with an ankle length chocolate coloured skirt and tan brown short high heels.

"Time for our final battle, in the H block. This battle will be between the team of Ash and Misty against the team of Walter and Sarah.

"Torterra, I choose you!" Ash commanded.

"Politoed, it's up to you!" Misty ordered.

"Banette, come out now!" Walter instructed.

"Ivysaur, come out and help!" Sarah called out.

May shuddered at the sight of Walter's Banette. Drew saw this and raised an eyebrow at her behaviour.

"May, why did you shudder like that?" Drew asked.

"Seeing that banette just reminds me of Harley and brings up a lot of bad memories." May admitted. Drew looked at her with sympathy and wrapped his left arm around her shoulder as he pulled her into him.

"Don't worry. He can't hurt you with me around." Drew told her

"Thanks." May replied, giving Drew a hug before she released him.

"A banette." Max said. "Shuppet, come on out." Max called. The grey, spherical pokemon appeared from its pokeball.

"Shup?" 'Yes?' Shuppet asked.

"Do you want you watch this battle with me? That is what you're going to evolve into." Max informed his pokemon.

"What!?" May cried.

"Shuppet evolves into Banette." Max replied.

"Oh great, so now I'm going to have reminders of Harley and his creepy pokemon everywhere I go!" May complained.

"May." Drew said.

"Huh?" May responded as she looked at Drew and followed his gaze to see a sad looking Shuppet, with its head down. May gasped, realising that she had inadvertently hurt Shuppet's feelings. She bent down and looked at Shuppet with apologetic eyes.

"I'm sorry, Shuppet. It's just that I've had a bad experience in the past with another banette, but I didn't mean to upset you." May apologised. "You're going to be a great banette, I just know it." May told it. Shuppet looked up and smiled at May's kind words.

"Shup!" Shuppet cried, happily, jumping into May's arms causing May to giggle as she hugged Max's pokemon. She placed Shuppet on Max's shoulder before everyone turned towards the battlefield.

"Torterra, use energy ball!" Ash commanded.

"Tor!" "Torterra bellowed as it opened its mouth and fired two green balls of energy from its mouth at its opponents.

"Ivysaur, use vine whip!" Sarah called out.

"Saur!" Ivysaur roared as it jumped in front of Banette and two dark green vines came out of its bulb. It grabbed the energy balls and tossed them back towards Torterra and Politoed.

"Politoed, use double slap!" Misty ordered.

"Po-li!" Politoed shouted as it slapped the energy balls, destroying them, before they were hit.

"Banette, use thunder!" Walter instructed.

"Ba!" Banette cried as it pointed its right arm at Politoed and released a yellow electric blast from it, shocking it before it had a chance to counter attack.

"Poli!" Politoed cried out in pain before being surrounded by electric sparks.

"Politoed, try to move." Misty told it, but Politoed didn't move, making Misty realise that Politoed had been paralysed. "Come on, Politoed. I know you can break free from the paralysis." Misty encouraged.

"Toe…" Politoed growled as it tried to move.

"Ivysaur, use razor leaf!" Sarah called out.

"I-vy!" Ivysaur roared as it released multiple razor sharp leaves from the leaves on its back at Politoed.

"Torterra, counter with leaf storm!" Ash commanded, trying to buy Misty some time.

"Tor-terra!" Torterra bellowed as the leaves on its back started to glow light green and it released a cyclone of wind and glowing light green leaves from the tree on its back, aiming at the razor leaf. The two attacks collided, equally matched, as neither pokemon would give in. Meanwhile, Politoed was still paralyzed and Walter decided to attack.

"Banette, use will-o-wisp!" Walter instructed.

"Nette!" Banette cried as it raised its arms and balls of blue flames appeared around it. Banette shot the fireballs at Politoed.

"Politoed, use water gun!" Misty ordered, confident that Politoed could pull it off. Politoed heard the faith in its trainer's voice which gave it the strength to shake itself free from paralysis.

"Toed!" Politoed shouted as it released a spiral of water at the will-o-wisp, extinguishing the flames and knocking Banette back as it got sprayed in the face with water. As this was going on, Torterra and Ivysaur were nearly worn out as they persisted with their attacks, determined to not give up.

"Come on, Torterra. I know you can do it!" Ash encouraged.

"Tor!" Torterra bellowed as it pushed further.

"Just a little more, Ivysaur!" Sarah called out.

"Saur!" Ivysaur roared as it put more power into its attack. This kept on, but eventually Torterra's leaf storm overcame Ivysaur's razor leaf and sent it flying backwards.

"Ivysaur, no!" Sarah cried.

"Ivy…" Ivysaur muttered as it shakily stood up.

"Torterra, use synthesis!" Ash commanded.

"Tor!" Torterra bellowed as its body became surrounded by white sparkles and its body began to glow white. The leaves on its back began to glow brightly as it healed itself.

"Banette, use frustration!" Walter instructed.

"Banette!" Banette cried as it ran towards Torterra, preparing its attack.

"Politoed, protect Torterra!" Misty ordered as Politoed jumped in front of Torterra. Banette unleashed its fury as it hit Politoed with its arms, smacked it with his head and kicked it with his legs.

"Politoed, use double slap!" Misty ordered.

"Po-li!" Politoed shouted as it regained control and slapped Banette, repeatedly. As Torterra finished healing, Politoed slapped Banette and sent it flying back into Ivysaur.

"Torterra, use rock climb!" Ash commanded.

"Terra!" Torterra bellowed as its claws began to glow white and they grew longer. It then got onto its hind legs and slammed its front legs into the ground. The ground separated and protruded from the ground under its opponents. Banette and Ivysaur were separated on different platforms. Torterra then ran up the side of the protruded ground and slammed into Ivysaur, smashing it into the ground.

"Banette, use screech!" Walter instructed. Banette opened its mouth and prepared to attack, but Misty didn't give it the chance.

"Politoed, use headbutt!" Misty ordered.

"Politoed!" Politoed shouted as it slammed its head into Banette causing it to fall back onto Ivysaur. The two of them landed in a pile, knocked out, with swirls in their eyes.

"Banette and Ivysaur are unable to battle. Torterra and Politoed win! Which means the victors are Ash and Misty!" The referee announced.

"We have our final winners today, folks!" Enta announced as the crowd broke out into cheers and applause.

"Yeah!" Ash and Misty cried as they fist bumped each other.

"A job well done, Banette." Walter said as he returned his pokemon to its pokeball.

"You tried your best, Ivysaur." Sarah said as she patted her pokemon on the head before returning it to its pokeball.

"Yes! Now we're all through to the next round!" May cheered as Ash and Misty came back.

"Great battle, you guys." Brock complimented.

"I think you meant 'awesome' battle." Ash replied, smugly. Misty punched him in the arm.

"No need to show off, Ash." Misty told him. Ash pouted and turned away, making Brock chuckle at their antics.

"And that wraps up our battles for today!" Enta announced. "These will be our match-ups for tomorrow's battle." Enta added as he pointed to the large screen. The losing teams were eliminated and the winning teams moved along the battle path until they landed at their next opponent. It was revealed that Dawn and Kenny would be pitted against May and Drew, followed by two random match-ups and ending with Max and Brock going up against Ash and Misty. The four teams faced their respective opponents with determined expressions.

"You ready for this, May?" Dawn asked.

"Oh, I'm ready to beat you." May replied, confidently.

"Well, looks like I'll finally get to battle you, Drew." Kenny said.

"Then prepare yourself for defeat." Drew responded, cockily.

"It's been a long time since we battled, Ash." Max reminded.

"Well, I look forward to it." Ash told him.

"I believe this is the first time that we'll battle, Misty." Brock informed.

"Then let's make it a battle to remember." Misty decided. Each person shook the respective person's hand as sparks of friendly rivalry flew between them.

Who will be victorious?

* * *

_**Hope you enjoyed it! I'm afraid that I'll be quite slow at updating as it is coming up to exam time, so I have a lot of revision to do, but don't worry, I will still update. Please R&amp;R!**_

_**xBandanaRosesx**_


	13. Chapter 12 - Double Round Matchups

_**Hi guys! Thank you so much for all the lovely reviews that I have been receiving, it really means a lot. All of your positive reviews have given me the drive to write this chapter, so I wrote it as quickly as I could. Enjoy!**_

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon or any of the characters **_

* * *

**Chapter 12 – Double Round Match-ups **

* * *

That night, Brock sat at a table, by the battlefield, outside the pokemon center. He appeared to be deep in thought as he stared at the starry night sky. A shooting star went past and he closed his eyes as he made a silent wish. Ash walked outside carrying two mugs of hot chocolate and noticed that Brock was alone.

"Hey, Brock, where is everyone?" Ash asked.

"Drew went to find Barry so that his Roserade could learn some new moves, Misty went to go find Louise so that she could take another look at her Milotic, Max went to go find Walter to see his Banette, Kenny went to go find Chad to look at his Machamp and May went to go find Conway so that she could work on improving Beautifly's psychic." Brock told him.

"What about Dawn?" Ash questioned.

"She went with May because Conway is a 'total creep' and she didn't trust him alone with May." Brock added, chuckling, making Ash chuckle.

"Here. I brought you a hot chocolate." Ash said as he gave Brock a mug and sat down at the table.

"Thanks." Brock replied.

"So, you and I will be battling tomorrow." Ash reminded.

"Yeah, it's been a long time." Brock replied.

"Then let's make a promise to make it the best battle we've ever had." Ash decided as he held out his hand.

"Right." Brock responded as he shook Ash's hand before they both turned back to watching the night sky.

"You know, you and I being out here makes me think back to the times when I first started out on my journey, minus Misty of course." Ash remembered.

"Yeah. Back then I was still the gym leader of the Pewter gym before I joined you on your journey to become the world's best pokemon breeder." Brock reminded.

"Oh yeah, but after that Tentacruel incident back in Sinnoh, you decided to become a pokemon doctor." Ash added. "By the way, how's that going for you?" Ash asked.

"It's great. I get to help out all the sick pokemon and it's really rewarding to see all the happy smiles on the pokemon and trainer's faces." Brock informed.

"I'm sure that seeing Nurse Joy all the time must be an added bonus," Ash teased, nudging him.

"Yeah…" Brock sighed. Ash noticed Brock's tone of voice and turned to face him, seeing a wistful expression on his face.

"Brock? What's wrong?" Ash inquired.

"It's nothing." Brock replied.

"Come on, Brock. I'm your best friend, you can tell me." Ash responded. Brock sighed, knowing Ash wouldn't let it drop.

"You don't know how lucky you are, Ash." Brock told him.

"What do you mean?" Ash asked, confused.

"You care about someone deeply and you have people who care about you." Brock replied.

"You mean Misty?" Ash questioned, slightly blushing.

"I never said that." Brock said, smirking at Ash, making him blush more intensely causing him to turn away. Brock gave a small chuckle before continuing. "Ash, you have a great personality and that's what people like about you." Brock informed.

"So do you, Brock. You're kind, helpful, confident…" Ash trailed off. "Plus, you always bounce back whenever you get knocked down." Ash added.

"That's the thing. I don't." Brock admitted.

"What are you talking about?" Ash replied. "Every time you see a pretty girl or you see Nurse Joy or Officer Jenny, you rush over to them and confess your undying love for them before you either get pulled away by Misty, poison jabbed by Croagunk or they turn you down. Even after that you just get back up and continue." Ash reminded.

"Maybe so, but every time that happens it just chips away at my self-esteem. I only appear confident because who wants to date a desperate loser." Brock confessed, depressed.

"Hey!" Ash shouted, suddenly, making Brock look at him in surprise. "You're not any of those things, Brock, and one day, you'll meet the girl of your dreams who likes you for who you are." Ash told him.

"What if I already met her?" Brock mumbled.

"What was that?" Ash asked, unsure if he heard Brock say something.

"Nothing." Brock replied. "Thanks Ash. I needed to hear that." Brock responded, patting him on the shoulder, as he stood up from his chair. "I think I'm going to head off to bed. Night." Brock said, walking inside the pokemon center. Ash watched him go before sighing.

'Man, I never knew Brock felt like that. I've got to help him.' Ash thought, determined.

"Don't worry, Brock. You will get a girlfriend," Ash whispered before heading back inside the pokemon center.

* * *

The next day, everyone gathered in the stadium to get ready for their battles.

"Now, our first battle of the second round will begin! The battle will be between the team of Dawn and Kenny against the team of May and Drew." Enta announced.

"Piplup, spotlight!" Dawn called out. The blue penguin pokemon appeared from its pokeball.

"Empoleon, hit it!" Kenny ordered. The large, navy blue penguin pokemon appeared from its pokeball.

"Beautifly, take the stage!" May instructed. The black and yellow butterfly pokemon appeared from its pokeball.

"Masquerain, let's go!" Drew commanded. The light blue eyeball pokemon appeared from its pokeball.

"This is going to be an interesting battle. It's an all coordinator's battle, so we should see some amazing combinations." Misty said.

"Not only that, but we'll be able to see the strength of their relationships. This is a contest couples' battle after all." Ash pointed out.

"Huh?" Misty replied, turning to face him.

"Come on, Misty. Give me some credit. I'm not that dense, you know." Ash responded, still facing the battlefield. Misty looked at him, shocked that he had noticed it. She smiled, remembering how oblivious to love he used to be, and turned back towards the battlefield.

"Ash Ketchum, you're full of surprises, you know that," Misty muttered under her breath, quietly, but Ash heard her and smiled.

"You can have the first move." Kenny said to Drew. He nodded in response.

"Masquerain, use hidden power!" Drew commanded.

"Mas-querain!" Masquerain shouted as a ring of white circles appeared above its head. The ring was raised up above its head and was shot at Empoleon.

"Empoleon, use metal claw!" Kenny ordered.

"Em-po!" Empoleon bellowed as the blue parts on the rims of its wings began to glow white and it deflected back the white circles with great speed and power as Masquerain got hit by its own attack.

'Kenny's using that defensive technique he told me about.' May thought.

"Piplup, use hydro pump!" Dawn called out.

"Pip-lup!" Piplup yelled as it opened its beak and released a powerful stream of water with white rings around it, aiming for Beautifly.

"Masquerain, use ice beam!" Drew commanded.

"Mas!" Masquerain shouted as a light blue ball formed above its head and it shot light blue beams from the ball at the hydro pump, freezing it.

"Beautifly, use aerial ace!" May instructed.

"Beau!" Beautifly cried as it flew into the air and did a flip. Its body became surrounded by white streaks and slammed into the frozen hydro pump. As Beautifly flew through the frozen stream of water, the ice shattered and the pieces flew straight over Beautifly's body, making it sparkle, as it speeded towards Piplup and knocked it over.

"Piplup, are you alright?" Dawn asked, worried.

"Pip." Piplup replied, getting to its feet.

"Empoleon, use flash cannon!" Kenny ordered.

"Empo!" Empoleon bellowed as it held out its wings and a silver ball of energy formed in between them. The ball then turned into a silver beam and Empoleon fired it at Masquerain.

"Masquerain, use quick attack!" Drew commanded.

"Rain!" Masquerain shouted as it began to glow white and disappeared, momentarily. Seconds later it reappeared and struck Empoleon, not giving it enough time to dodge. Kenny gritted his teeth in annoyance.

"Piplup, use headbutt!" Dawn called out.

"Lup!" Piplup yelled as it raced towards its opponents.

"Masquerain, use hidden power!" Drew commanded.

"Mas-querain!" Masquerain shouted as a ring of white circles appeared above its head. The ring was raised up above its head and was shot at Piplup.

"Beautifly, use psychic!" May instructed.

"Tifly!" Beautifly cried as its eyes began to glow blue and the white circles became outlined in blue. It controlled the hidden power, giving it more power as the white circles sped towards Piplup.

"Piplup, jump and do a somersault!" Dawn called out. Just as the attack was about to hit, Piplup jumped up and somersaulted over the hidden power.

"Ah!" May and Drew whispered, in unison. The somersault increased Piplup's power as it slammed its head into Beautifly with great force.

"No, Beautifly!" May cried. Beautifly shook it off and showed that it was ok.

"Masquerain, use silver wind!" Drew commanded.

"Querain!" Masquerain shouted as it flapped its wings and released a cyclone of wind that has a silver crescent in it at Piplup.

"Piplup, drill peck!" Dawn called out.

"Pip!" Piplup shouted as its beak began to glow white and it span like a drill as it shot straight through the silver wind, making itself sparkle as it struck Masquerain and smashed it into the wall behind it.

"Masquerain!" Drew cried.

"Quick, use ice beam!" Dawn called out.

"Piplup!" Piplup shouted as it opened its beak and formed a light blue ball inside of it as it fired multiple light blue beams at Masquerain. Piplup was so close that Masquerain had no time dodge.

"Beautifly, protect Masquerain!" May instructed as Beautifly quickly flew in front of Masquerain and was struck by the ice beam instead, freezing it in a block of ice.

"Mas!" Masquerain cried, shocked and worried about Beautifly.

"Try to break free, Beautifly!" May instructed.

"Beau." Beautifly said as it struggled to break free from the ice.

"Empoleon, use hydro cannon!" Kenny ordered.

"Poleon!" Empoleon bellowed as it opened its beak and a blue flash of light appeared in front of it. A glowing light blue ball of water appeared in front of its beak where the flash was and it fired it at Masquerain.

"Piplup, use drill peck!" Dawn called out.

"Pip!" Piplup shouted as its beak began to glow white and it span like a drill as it shot straight through the hydro cannon, giving it extra power.

"Masquerain, use silver wind on Beautifly!" Drew commanded.

"What!? Drew, Masquerain will get hit!" May told him, turning to face him.

"This is a tag battle, May, which means you have to look out for your partner even if it means sacrificing yourself." Drew replied, turning to face her with a smile on his face. May gasped in shock at his words.

'Drew…' May thought.

"Querain!" Masquerain shouted as it flapped its wings and released a cyclone of wind that has a silver crescent in it at Beautifly, chipping away at the ice. Piplup was getting closer to Masquerain by the second. Suddenly, the ice shattered and Beautifly broke free.

"Beautifly, use psychic!" May instructed, immediately.

"Tifly!" Beautifly cried as its eyes began to glow blue and Piplup became outlined in blue. It controlled the attack, stopping Piplup in its tracks just as it was about to strike Masquerain.

"Now, send it back!" May instructed.

"Beau!" Beautifly cried as it sent Piplup flying in the other direction back towards Dawn.

"Pip!" Piplup shouted as it crashed into Empoleon.

"Ah, Piplup/Empoleon!" Dawn and Kenny cried, in unison.

"How did you-" Drew asked, but was cut off by May.

"Told you I'd power up Beautifly's psychic." May said, winking at Drew. Drew blinked in shock before smiling.

'She's really grown.' Drew thought.

"Now, you want to finish this?" May asked.

"You bet." Drew replied, determined.

"Beautifly, use aerial ace!" May instructed.

"Beau!" Beautifly cried as it flew into the air and did a flip. Its body became surrounded by white streaks as it flew towards it opponents.

"Masquerain, use ice beam!" Drew commanded.

"Mas!" Masquerain shouted as a light blue ball appeared above its head and it shot light blue beams from the ball at Beautifly, encasing its body in ice.

"Two can play that game." Kenny said. "You ready, Dawn?" Kenny questioned.

"Yeah." Dawn responded

"Empoleon, use drill peck!" Kenny ordered.

"Empoleon!" Empoleon bellowed as its crown and beak began to glow white and it span like a drill towards Beautifly.

"Piplup, use ice beam!" Dawn called out.

"Piplup!" Piplup shouted as it opened its beak and formed a light blue ball inside of it as it fired multiple light blue beams at Empoleon, surrounding it in ice. The two fusion attacks collided, with extreme force, causing smoke to spread across the entire battlefield, making everyone shield their eyes from the smoke. As the smoke cleared, all four pokemon were shown to be standing, none of them giving an inch. All four trainers gritted their teeth as they waited for the outcome of the battle. The pokemon panted heavily as they stared each other down, but Piplup and Empoleon were the first to fall.

"Piplup and Empoleon are unable to battle. Beautifly and Masquerain win! Which means the victors are May and Drew!" The referee declared.

"Our winners of the first battle have been decided!" Enta announced as the crowd broke out into cheers and applause. May and Drew breathed a sigh of relief before smiling at each other.

"Thank you, Piplup. You battled really well." Dawn said as she returned her pokemon to its pokeball.

"You were awesome, Empoleon. Thanks." Kenny thanked his pokemon as he returned it to its pokeball.

"Wow! That battle was amazing! I couldn't take my eyes off of it for a second!" Misty cried.

"Yeah and the end of the battle was definitely a sight to see." Brock added as all four trainers walked in.

"Great battle, May!" Max exclaimed as he ran over and gave her hi-five.

"Hey, thanks Max." May replied, smiling. "Thank you as well, Drew." May said.

"Huh?" Drew responded.

"Well, if you didn't tell Masquerain to break Beautifly free from the ice, we may not have won." May admitted. Drew smiled at her kindness.

"Like I said, always look out for your partner." Drew told her, giving her a quick hug.

"Sorry about your loss, you guys." Ash said to Dawn and Kenny.

"It doesn't matter. It's the taking part that counts. Plus, we gained a lot of great experience from this." Dawn replied. "Besides, those two deserved it. Both they and their pokemon have great trusting relationships that allow them to work well together." Dawn added, as she signaled to May and Drew. Ash and Kenny looked over and saw Drew saying something before giving May a hug.

"Yeah." Ash and Kenny agreed. The three of them went to join the others as they watched the next two battles.

* * *

Finally, it was time for Max and Brock's battle with Ash and Misty.

"Now, the last battle of the second round will begin. This battle will be between the team of Max and Brock against the team of Ash and Misty!" Enta announced.

"Mightyena, come on out!" Max instructed. The black and grey quadruped pokemon appeared from its pokeball.

"Forretress, I need your help!" Brock ordered. The large spherical pokemon appeared from its pokeball.

"Pikachu, I choose you!" Ash commanded. The yellow mouse pokemon appeared from its pokeball.

"Azurill, it's up to you!" Misty called out. The round blue mouse pokemon appeared from its pokeball.

"This looks like it's going to be a promising battle," Kenny commented, excitedly.

"You can go first, Max." Ash said.

"Alright, I will." Max replied. "Mightyena, use bite!" Max instructed.

"Migh!" Mightyena roared as it ran towards Pikachu.

"Pikachu, use iron tail!" Ash commanded.

"Pika!" Pikachu shouted as it jumped up and its whole tail began to glow white. As Pikachu descended upon Mightyena, Mightyena opened its mouth and bit down on Pikachu's tail with its powerful jaws causing Pikachu to grit its teeth in pain as Mightyena released its tail.

"Forretress, use spikes!" Brock ordered.

"Forr!" Forretress bellowed as it spun around and glowing white spikes came out of its body and flew towards Azurill.

"Azurill, use water gun!" Misty called out.

"Azu!" Azurill cried as it released a spiral of water from its mouth at the spikes, shooting them back at Forretress.

"For!" Forretress cried out as it was hit by its own attack.

"Pikachu, quick attack!" Ash commanded.

"Pi pi pi!" Pikachu shouted as it sped towards its opponents, leaving a white trail behind it.

"Forretress, intercept with explosion!" Brock ordered.

"Tress!" Forretress bellowed as it blocked Pikachu's path as its body began to glow white.

"Pi!" Pikachu shouted as it was running too fast to stop and smashed into Forretress, only to be sent flying back by the force of the violent explosion.

"Pikachu, are you okay!?" Ash asked worried.

"Pi." Pikachu replied, getting up slowly.

"Azurill, use refresh on Pikachu!" Misty called out.

"Zu!" Azurill cried as it wrapped its tail around Pikachu and its body began to glow light blue. Waves of energy came off of it as Pikachu began to heal. While this was going on, Max quickly whispered something to Brock who nodded in response.

"Mightyena, use tackle!" Max instructed.

"Ena!" Mightyena roared as it charged towards Pikachu and Azurill. Pikachu finished healing as it spotted Mightyena speeding towards them.

"Pikachu, electro ball!" Ash commanded.

"Pi-ka!" Pikachu shouted as its tail became surrounded by yellow electricity which condensed and formed an orange-yellow orb of electricity with yellow sparks of electricity coming off of it. It jumped into the air did a front flip as it launched the orb of electricity and struck Mightyena, stopping it in its tracks.

"Forretress, spikes!" Brock ordered.

"Forr!" Forretress bellowed as it suddenly came into view. It spun around and glowing white spikes came out of its body as they hit Azurill.

"Azu!" Azurill cried out as it was showered by Forretress' spikes.

"Pikachu, use quick attack!" Ash commanded.

"Pi pi pi!" Pikachu shouted as it sped towards Forretress and slammed into it, knocking it back into Mightyena.

"Azurill, use bubble!" Misty called out.

"Zu!" Azurill cried as it released light blue bubbles from its mouth.

"Pikachu, use thunderbolt!" Ash commanded.

"Pika-chu!" Pikachu shouted as it released a powerful bolt of electricity from its body at the bubbles. The bubbles became electrified and flew towards Mightyena.

"Mightyena, use hyper beam!" Max instructed.

"Might!" Mightyena roared as an orange ball appeared in front of its mouth. It then fired the ball as a beam at Azurill.

"Zu!" Azurill cried out as it was smashed into the wall.

"Azurill, no!" Misty cried.

"Z-zu…" Azurill whispered as it struggled to get to its feet.

"Ash, we have to finish this quick. I don't think Azurill can go on much longer." Misty informed Ash as she turned towards him.

"Right." Ash replied, turning towards Misty. He turned back towards the battlefield and saw Mightyena not moving. "Oh yeah, Mightyena can't move for a while after using hyper beam. This is my chance." Ash said, grinning.

"Pikachu, thunderbolt, again!" Ash commanded.

"Pika-chu!" Pikachu shouted as it released a powerful bolt of electricity from its body at Mightyena.

"Forretress, use rapid spin!" Brock ordered.

'Huh?' Misty thought.

"Forre!" Forretress bellowed as it moved in front of Mightyena and began to spin. The thunderbolt bounced off of Forretress and headed back towards Ash and Misty as the attack shocked Azurill.

"Zurill!" Azurill cried out in pain.

"Ah!" Ash yelled, shocked. As the electricity subsided, Azurill collapsed on the floor with swirls in its eyes.

"Azurill is unable to battle. Forretress wins!" The referee declared.

"Thanks, Azurill. You did your best." Misty said as she returned her pokemon to its pokeball. "Win the battle for the both of us, Ash." Misty told him.

"You got it." Ash responded. "Pikachu, start running!" Ash commanded.

"Pika pi!" Pikachu shouted as it ran towards its opponents.

"Forretress, use tackle!" Brock ordered.

"Ress!" Forretress bellowed as it closed its shell and spun towards Pikachu.

"Jump, Pikachu!" Ash commanded.

"Pi!" Pikachu shouted as it jumped above Forretress.

"Oh dear," Brock muttered, knowing what comes next. Ash smirked at Brock's expression.

"Now, use iron tail!" Ash commanded.

"Pika!" Pikachu shouted as its whole tail began to glow white. It somersaulted as it descended upon Forretress and struck it head on, sending it hurtling to the ground. When the dust settled, Forretress was revealed to have been knocked out by the attack.

"Forretress is unable to battle. Pikachu wins!" The referee declared.

"A great battle, Forretress. Thanks." Brock thanked his pokemon as he returned it to its pokeball. "You can do this, Max." Brock encouraged.

"Okay." Max replied. "Mightyena, use tackle!" Max instructed.

"Ena!" Mightyena roared as it charged towards Pikachu.

"Pikachu, use quick attack!" Ash commanded.

"Pi pi pi!" Pikachu shouted as it sped towards Mightyena, leaving a white trail behind it. The two attacks collided, but Mightyena was stronger and pushed Pikachu back slightly.

"Mightyena, use iron tail!" Max instructed.

"Mi!" Mightyena roared as it tail began to glow white and ran towards Pikachu.

"Pikachu, you use iron tail, too!" Ash commanded.

"Pika!" Pikachu shouted as its whole tail began to glow white and it clashed tails with Mightyena. The two pokemon stood their ground, but Pikachu's tail was stronger and pushed Mightyena back.

"Alright, it's time to finish this." Max said. "Mightyena, use hyper beam!" Max instructed.

"Might!" Mightyena roared as an orange ball appeared in front of its mouth. It then fired the ball as a beam at Pikachu.

"Pikachu, use thunderbolt!" Ash commanded.

"Pika-chu!" Pikachu shouted as it released a powerful bolt of electricity from its body at Mightyena. The two attacks collided allowing a battle of power to ensue.

"Come on, Mightyena!" Max called out.

"You can do it, Pikachu!" Ash encouraged. Both pokemon held their nerve, not giving an inch as they put all their strength and might into their attacks. An overload of power occurred causing an explosion of smoke to burst across the battlefield. Both sides shielded their eyes as dust blew everywhere, in all directions. When the smoke cleared, both remaining pokemon had collapsed on the floor from exhaustion.

"Mightyena! Pikachu!" Both Max and Ash called their respective pokemon, in unison.

"Both pokemon are unable to battle. The match is-" The referee started, but stopped short when one of the pokemon started to move. Slowly, Mightyena shakily got to its feet whilst Pikachu remained on the floor.

"Pikachu is unable to battle. Mightyena wins! Which means the victors are Max and Brock!" The referee declared.

"There are our winners of the last quarter-final match!" Enta announced as the crowd broke out into cheers and applause.

"Good job, Max!" Brock praised as he patted Max on the back.

"Thanks." Max replied, smiling. Ash sighed as he walked over to Pikachu and picked it up. Pikachu looked at him, a look of disappointment on its face.

"Hey, don't worry buddy. You battled really hard." Ash told his pokemon, smiling. Pikachu smiled back at him, weakly, as it climbed onto Ash's shoulder.

"Wow. I couldn't tear my eyes away from that battle even if I tried," May whispered.

"Yeah. You couldn't tell who was going to win." Kenny commented as both teams walked back over to them.

"Great battle, you two!" May complimented.

"Thanks, May." Brock replied. "Your brother here is quite the trainer." Brock told her.

"Yeah. Dad would be so proud." May replied, smiling down at her brother.

"You think so?" Max asked.

"I know so." May answered, making Max beam.

"Too bad you lost, Ash." Kenny said.

"Nah, it doesn't matter. If I can't win then I want one of my friends to win." Ash responded. "By the way, sorry about shocking Azurill, Mist," Ash apologised as he turned towards her, scratching the back of his head, sheepishly.

"Don't worry about it. It wasn't your fault." Misty told him as she looked at Brock. "We just underestimated the battling skills of our best friend." Misty admitted.

"That we did." Ash replied as Enta began speaking.

"Alright folks, that brings us to the end of the quarter-finals. These are our match-ups for the semi-finals." Enta announced as he brought everyone's attention to the computer screen. The four remaining teams moved along the battle path as May and Drew and Max and Brock were pitted against two random teams.

"Let's win our matches so that you and I can battle, Max." May told her brother.

"You bet." Max replied, determination in his eyes.

"Okay, see you tomorrow for our semi-final and final battles!" Enta announced as the gang left to go back to the pokemon center.

* * *

The next day, the gang headed back to the stadium for May and Drew's and Max and Brock's battles.

May and Drew stood on the battlefield and faced their opponents. There were going to be battling a team of twin girls. They both had dark complexions with black hair, but there were slight differences between them. The girl on the left had her black hair, with sapphire blue dip-dyed ends, tied into a left side ponytail with a side fringe on the left. She wore a loose white t-shirt with a sky blue rose print on the front and dark blue denim shorts that went down to mid-thigh. She accompanied this with white ankle socks and a pair of dark blue vans. The girl on the right had her black hair, with blood red dip-dyed ends, loose and straightened to mid-back length with a side fringe on the right. She wore a white sleeveless skater dress that went down to mid-thigh underneath a red blazer with the sleeves rolled up to her elbows. She accompanied this with white ankle socks and a pair of crimson red vans.

"The first semi-final battle is about to begin! The battle will be between the team of May and Drew against the team of Bella and Ella." Enta announced.

"Wartortle, take the stage!" May called out. The indigo-blue, bipedal turtle pokemon appeared from its pokeball.

"Flygon, let's go!" Drew commanded. The green, bipedal dragon pokemon appeared from its pokeball.

"Vaporeon, battle on!" Bella ordered. The light blue aquatic pokemon appeared from its pokeball.

"Flareon, showtime!" Ella instructed. The reddish-orange, quadruped pokemon appeared from its pokeball.

"Cool! Two twins with two eeveelutions," Max commented, in awe.

"Yeah. This should be a great battle." Misty added.

"Flygon, use flamethrower!" Drew commanded.

"Fly!" Flygon cried as it released a red-orange stream of fire from its mouth at its opponents. As Flygon attacked, May gave a silent command to Wartortle who nodded in understanding.

"Vaporeon, use hydro pump!" Bella ordered.

"Vapor!" Vaporeon shouted as it blasted a powerful jet of water from its mouth at the flamethrower. The two attacks collided and the hydro pump started to push back the flamethrower. Just as Flygon was about to be hit, it flew out of the way and as Vaporeon stopped its attack, it was immediately struck by Wartortle's rapid spin, pushing Vaporeon back, slightly.

"Wait, how did Wartortle attack Vaporeon so quickly?" Dawn asked.

"Flygon's flamethrower was just a distraction. May used the flamethrower to camouflage Wartortle as it travelled towards Vaporeon using rapid spin. Being in its shell, Wartortle wouldn't be harmed, so it spun through the flamethrower and the connecting hydro pump, so when Vaporeon stopped the attack, it wouldn't have time to dodge." Kenny explained as Dawn turned to face him while he remained watching the battle.

"Oh, I get it now." Dawn replied, turning her attention back to the battle.

"Flareon, use fire fang!" Ella instructed.

"Fla!" Flareon yelled as it mouth became covered in red-orange fire and it dashed towards its opponents.

"Wartortle, use water gun!" May called out.

"War!" Wartortle roared as it released a spiral of water from its mouth at Flareon.

"Jump, Flareon!" Ella instructed. Flareon jumped over the water gun and descended upon Wartortle. It opened its mouth and bit down on Wartortle's tail.

"War!" Wartortle cried out in pain.

"Wartortle, use aqua tail!" May called out.

"Tortle!" Wartortle roared as its tail began to glow light blue and it spun Flareon around with its tail. A spiral of water spurted into Flareon's mouth and Wartortle tossed its tail forward as it flung Flareon across the battlefield.

"Oh no, Flareon are you okay?" Ella asked, worried.

"Fla." Flareon replied, getting to its feet.

"Vaporeon, use quick attack!" Bella ordered.

"Va!" Vaporeon shouted as it ran at fast speed toward Flygon, leaving a white trail behind it.

"Flygon, sandstorm!" Drew commanded.

"Ygon!" Flygon cried as it flapped its wings and released a tornado of sand at Vaporeon.

"Vaporeon, straight through!" Bella ordered.

"Va!" Vaporeon shouted as it jumped through the center of the sandstorm and came out of the other side, unharmed.

"What!?" Drew cried, shocked.

"Tackle!" Bella ordered

"Por!" Vaporeon shouted as it tackled Flygon, knocking it backwards, catching Drew off-guard.

"Flareon, use scary face!" Ella instructed.

"Flare!" Flareon yelled as its eyes began to glow red. It took of advantage of the sandstorm and ran towards it before using it to project a large illusion of its face. Flygon seemed unfazed by this, but Wartortle had a different experience.

"War," Wartortle muttered, shakily, a look of terror spread across its face.

"Come on, Wartortle, you can shake this off." May encouraged. Hearing its trainer's voice calmed it down and it slapped its cheeks as it got back into battle mode.

"War." Wartortle replied.

"I knew you could do it, Wartortle," May praised.

"I remember when Ursula used that move against me." Dawn commented.

"Right. It was in the Grand Festival." Ash remembered.

"Yeah. It's a really creepy combination though." Dawn added as she shuddered.

"Flareon, spin and use hidden power!" Ella instructed.

"Reon!" Flareon yelled as its body became outlined in gold and multiple red circles surrounded and spun around its body. Flareon spun on its tail as it shot out the circles in all different directions.

"Wartortle. Flygon. Dodge." May and Drew said to their pokemon, in unison. Flygon flew over the hidden power, but Wartortle was too slow and was hit by the attack.

"Huh? How come you didn't dodge that, Wartortle?" May asked, confused.

"It's the effects of scary face." Drew answered.

"What do you mean?" May questioned.

"If scary face works correctly then it harshly lowers the speed of your opponent." Drew told her. May nodded in response.

'How do I deal with Wartortle's speed problem?' May thought. 'Got it!' May thought as an idea came to her.

"War?" Wartortle said, seeing its trainer's expression.

"Wartortle, get onto Flygon's back." May responded.

"War." Wartortle replied before jumping onto Flygon's back. Drew understood what she was doing and helped her with her plan.

"Flygon, use steel wing!" Drew commanded.

"Gon!" Flygon cried as its wings began to glow white and it flew towards Vaporeon. As soon as it got close enough, Wartortle attacked.

"Wartortle, rapid spin then water gun!" May called out.

"Wartor!" Wartortle roared as it jumped off of Flygon and pulled all of its limbs into its shell as it spun like a disc. It then released a spiral of water from its mouth which sprayed out of its shell in all directions.

"Fla!" Flareon cried out as it was hit repeatedly by the water gun attack.

"Vaporeon, use acid armor!" Bella ordered.

"Poreon!" Vaporeon shouted as it quickly jumped into one of the water jets and its body began to glow blue before disappearing. Flygon stopped suddenly, not knowing where Vaporeon went.

"Quick attack!" Bella ordered.

"Va!" Vaporeon shouted as it appeared seconds later and slammed into Flygon, knocking it back.

"Flygon, dragon breath!" Drew commanded.

"Fly-gon!" Flygon cried as it released a light blue beam from its mouth at Vaporeon, pushing it back slightly, but not doing much damage due to the raised defence effects of acid armor.

"Flareon, use hidden power!" Ella instructed.

"Reon!" Flareon yelled as its body became outlined in gold and multiple red circles surrounded and spun around its body. It shifted its body forward as it shot the circles towards Wartortle.

"Quick, withdraw!" May called out.

"Tor!" Wartortle roared as it pulled all of its limbs into its shell for protection. The hidden power bounced off of Wartortle's and were sent straight back towards Flareon and Vaporeon.

"Fla! Va!" Flareon and Vaporeon cried out as they were pelted by Flareon's own attack. Wartortle extended all of its limbs out of its shell and jumped back onto Flygon.

"Let's end this." Drew said. "Flygon, use flamethrower!" Drew commanded.

"Fly!" Flygon cried as it released a red-orange stream of fire from its mouth at its opponents.

"Wartortle, use aqua tail!" May called out.

"Tortle!" Wartortle roared as it climbed onto Flygon's head and turned around so that its back was facing its opponents. It lowered its tail as it began to glow light blue and a spiral of water was released, twisting itself around Flygon's flamethrower to make a powerful combination.

"You're not the only ones who have fire and water on their side." Bella told them. "Vaporeon, use hydro pump!" Bella ordered.

"Vapor!" Vaporeon shouted as it blasted a powerful jet of water from its mouth at the aqua flamethrower.

"Flareon, use fire spin!" Ella instructed.

"Fla-reon!" Flareon yelled as it opened its mouth and a spiralling red-orange flame was released from its mouth. The flames surrounded the hydro pump creating an equally powerful fire and water fusion move. The two moves collided creating a sudden rise in humidity as the aqua flamethrower and hydro fire collided. Both teams of trainer's grit their teeth as beads of sweat trickled down their faces while they watched their pokemon battle.

"Just a little more, Wartortle!" May called out.

"War." Wartortle replied as it put more power into its aqua tail.

"Give it all you got, Flygon!" Drew commanded.

"Fly." Flygon responded as it increased the strength of its flamethrower.

"You can beat them, Vaporeon!" Bella encouraged.

"Va." Vaporeon answered as it put everything into its hydro pump.

"You've got this, Flareon!" Ella told her pokemon.

"Fla." Flareon said as it gave its fire spin more energy. The two fusion attacks stayed strong, alternately pushing each other back until the hydro fire finally gave in and the aqua flamethrower broke through, striking both Vaporeon and Flareon and knocking them back into the wall.

"No!" Bella and Ella cried, in unison. Vaporeon and Flareon had collapsed on top of each other with swirls in their eyes.

"Vaporeon and Flareon are unable to battle. Wartortle and Flygon win!" Which means the victors are May and Drew!" The referee declared.

"Well folks, our first team of finalists has been revealed!" Enta announced as the crowd broke out into cheers and applause. May and Drew wiped their foreheads as they let out the breaths they didn't realise they were holding.

"Thank you, Vaporeon." Bella thanked her pokemon, returning it to its pokeball.

"You tried your absolute hardest, Flareon." Ella said as she returned her pokemon to its pokeball.

"Wow. That battle was intense." Dawn commented.

"It sure was." Kenny agreed as May and Drew walked in.

"Good work out there, guys," Ash complimented.

"Thanks." May and Drew replied, in unison.

"Now Max, make sure you win okay?" May told her brother.

"Don't worry, I plan to." Max responded as he and Brock headed to the battlefield.

* * *

As Max and Brock arrived on the battlefield, they glanced at their opponents. They were up against a charming young man and a smart looking young man. The charming young man had a pale complexion with brunette hair that had been spiked up with gel. He was wearing a crisp white shirt, which was left untucked, over a pair of black slacks. He accompanied this with a loosened black tie and black dress shoes. The smart looking young man had a pale complexion with dark brown slick back hair. He wore a white shirt with a dark blue tie and a navy blue sweater over the top. On the bottom half he wore beige trousers with a dark brown belt and he accompanied this with maroon leather shoes.

"Our second semi-final battle will now begin! The battle will be between the team of Max and Brock against the team of Darren and Daniel." Enta announced.

"Shuppet, come on out!" Max ordered. The grey spherical pokemon appeared from its pokeball.

"Ludicolo, I need your help!" Brock instructed. The Mexican pineapple/duck pokemon appeared from its pokeball.

"Lucario, let's show them a real battle!" Darren commanded. The blue and black canine pokemon appeared from its pokeball.

"Medicham, time to control our fate!" Daniel called out. The pink bipedal, humanoid pokemon appeared from its pokeball.

"Wow…" May trailed off, in awe, looking at Darren's magnificent Lucario. Darren heard May and turned to face her, giving her a flirtatious wink. May blushed deeply and Drew put his arm around May possessively as he glared at Darren. Darren smirked at Drew before turning back towards the battle.

"Shuppet, use thunderbolt!" Max ordered.

"Shu!" Shuppet cried as its body became surrounded in yellow sparks of electricity. It then fired a beam of electricity at Lucario.

"Lucario, use bone rush!" Darren commanded

"Ar!" Lucario roared as it put its paws together and spread them apart creating a light green bone. It then spun the bone around, masterfully, as it deflected the thunderbolt while showing off.

"Arrogant bastard," Drew muttered, but May heard him.

"Language, Drew." May playfully reprimanded. "Besides, he really reminds me of someone, don't you think?" May asked.

"Who?" Drew inquired. May looked at him with raised eyebrows and knowing eyes. "I do not act like that!" Drew shouted, pointing at Darren.

"Well, let's watch the battle and see." May replied as she turned back towards the battle. Drew frowned before turning his attention back to the battle at hand.

"Medicham, use meditate!" Daniel called out.

"Medicham!" Medicham shouted as it floated in the air and began to meditate, its body beginning to glow with a blue outline.

Ludicolo, use bullet seed!" Brock instructed.

"Lu-di!" Ludicolo bellowed as it shot many glowing yellow seeds from its mouth at Medicham at a high velocity.

"Ice punch the ground!" Daniel called out.

"Medi-cham cham cham!" Medicham shouted as its hands began to glow bluish-white. It repeatedly punched the ground, forming multiple ice pillars. The bullet seed bounced off of the ice pillars before being shot back towards Ludicolo and hitting it.

"Hey, I remember when that move was used." May remembered.

"Right. Grace used that against me back in Fallarbor Town." Drew told her.

"Oh yeah. That was the contest where I won my first ribbon," May added, proudly.

"You were just lucky that Grace beat me. Otherwise, things wouldn't have turned out in your favour." Drew replied.

"Hey! I can beat you any time, any place!" May retorted.

"Keep telling yourself that, May," Drew responded, coolly. May pouted before crossing her arms and focusing on the battle, making Drew chuckle.

"Medicham, use high jump kick!" Daniel called out.

"Cha!" Medicham shouted as it leaped into the air and prepared to strike Ludicolo.

"Shuppet, use shadow ball!" Max ordered.

"Pet!" Shuppet cried as it moved in front of Ludicolo before creating a black ball in front of its mouth and firing it at Medicham. Medicham was so close that it didn't have time to dodge, so instead of hitting Ludicolo it hit the shadow ball with its left knee.

"Me!" Medicham cried out as it held its knee in pain.

"Shuppet, use psychic!" Max ordered.

"Shu-ppet!" Shuppet cried as its eyes began to glow blue and Medicham became outlined in blue. It began to control Medicham as it lifted it into the air.

"Me!" Medicham shouted, panicking.

"Lucario, aura sphere!" Darren commanded

"Ari!" Lucario roared as it put its hands together and created a blue ball of energy. Lucario then fired it at Shuppet.

"Shu!" Shuppet cried as it was hit, stopping its psychic attack. Medicham dropped back onto the ground before jumping back to its side of the battlefield.

"Thanks." Daniel said to Darren.

"It was nothing," Darren replied, casually.

"Ludicolo, use razor leaf!" Brock instructed.

"Colo!" Ludicolo bellowed as it waved its arms and razor sharp leaves came out of them.

"Lucario, use metal claw!" Darren commanded.

"Car!" Lucario roared as the spikes on the tops of its paws began to glow white and grow, transforming into three claws. It ran forward and slashed the razor leaves, obliterating them as it gained on Ludicolo.

"Screech!_"_ Max ordered.

"Shuppet!" Shuppet cried as it moved in front of Ludicolo and yelled out loudly. A red orb appeared in front of its mouth, sending off red shockwaves at Lucario.

"Jump and spin!" Darren commanded.

"Ar!" Lucario roared as it jumped into the screech and somersaulted through the center of the shockwaves, unharmed. It reached Shuppet and jumped over, landing behind it, as it placed its right palm on Ludicolo's body.

"Uh oh." Max and Brock muttered, in unison. Darren smirked, seeing both trainer's expressions.

"Force palm!" Darren commanded.

"Cario!" Lucario roared as it fired a huge light green blast from its paw at Ludicolo, sending it flying back into the wall.

"Ludicolo!" Brock yelled.

"Ludi…" Ludicolo muttered as it slowly rose to its feet.

"Come on, Drew. You can't say that he's unlike you." May told him.

"Okay then, what's the same about us?" Drew questioned, annoyed.

"You both have that stupid smirk adorned on your face, you're both arrogant, you both like to show off…" May trailed off as she listed the number of similarities between the two. "Need I say more?" May asked.

"Yeah, well... oh shut up." Drew retorted as he turned away from her, making May giggle.

"Shuppet, use shadow ball!" Max ordered.

"Pet!" Shuppet cried as it turned around before creating a black ball in front of its mouth and firing it at Lucario.

"Lucario, use bone rush to dodge!" Darren commanded.

"Ar!" Lucario roared as it put its paws together and spread them apart creating a light green bone. It ran forward and used the bone to pole vault over Shuppet and dodge the shadow ball.

"Ah!" Max cried, shocked. Darren whispered something to Daniel and he nodded in response as he gave Medicham a silent command.

"Now, use aura sphere!" Darren commanded.

"Ari!" Lucario roared as it put its hands together and created two blue balls of energy. Lucario then fired it at Shuppet and Ludicolo.

"Medicham, use confusion!" Daniel called out.

"Me-di!" Medicham shouted as it held out its hands and they became surrounded in light blue. The aura spheres became surrounded in light blue and Medicham controlled them, increasing their power as they sped towards Shuppet and Ludicolo. The first one struck Ludicolo easily since it was too weak to dodge.

"Shuppet, dodge it!" Max ordered. However, as soon as Medicham used confusion on the aura spheres, it began running towards Shuppet. Now, Medicham was positioned in front of Shuppet, leaving no time for Shuppet to escape.

"Finish it up with ice punch!" Daniel called out.

"Medi-cham!" Medicham shouted as its right hand began to glow bluish-white. It struck the confusion aura and punched it, taking the power from the combination move and putting it into its hand as it struck Shuppet.

"Shu!" Shuppet cried out in pain as it was punched in the stomach and sent flying back into Ludicolo. Both pokemon had crashed into the wall, knocked out.

"Shuppet and Ludicolo are unable to battle. Lucario and Medicham win! The victors are Darren and Daniel!" The referee declared.

"And here are our second team of finalists!" Enta announced as the crowd broke out into cheers and applause.

"You were great, Ludicolo. Thanks." Brock said as he returned his pokemon to its pokeball.

"I'm so sorry, Shuppet. I should have been a better trainer." Max apologised as he picked up his pokemon and hugged it, tears brimming at the edge of his eyes.

"Oh no…" Misty whispered.

"I really thought they were going to win." Dawn commented.

"Max…" May trailed off as she looked at her younger brother, sadly. Drew watched May with sympathetic eyes before turning towards Darren with narrowed eyes. Darren turned towards Drew with a full blown smirk plastered on his face. Anger flared in Drew's eyes as he gritted his teeth and gripped onto the wall in front of him.

'I'll wipe that smug smirk off your face, you jerk.' Drew thought, determined.

With May and Drew being the only team remaining in the competition out of the gang, who will emerge victorious?

* * *

_**Hope you enjoyed it! Read the next chapter to find out who wins. Please R&amp;R!**_

_**xBandanaRosesx**_


	14. Chapter 13 - Battling the Past

_**Hi guys! Here's the final chapter of the tag battle tournament. I would just like to say, although I know that the characters (apart from Ash) don't actually have surnames in the anime, I will be using the ones that I have taken a liking to, for Drew and May, in this chapter, for the purpose of the story, and maybe in the future. Enjoy!**_

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon or any of the characters **_

* * *

**Chapter 13 – Battling the Past **

* * *

"Alright folks, we're going to take a little break, but don't forget to come back for the finale!" Enta announced as some of the crowd stood up to stretch their legs before the final battle. May watched as Max walked off the battlefield, his head hanging low, with Brock's arm around his shoulder.

"I'm going to go check on Max, okay?" May told Drew. He nodded in response and she ran off down the corridor towards the battlefield entrance. Max and Brock turned the corner and stopped as May came into their view.

"I'll leave you two alone." Brock said as he squeezed Max's shoulder in reassurance before walking off. May smiled at Brock and he nodded his head at her as he left. She sighed and walked towards Max before stopping a couple of feet in front of him as she waited for him to look up at her. Max slowly lifted his head and May saw the distraught expression on his face. His eyes were glassy and he looked like he would crack any minute. She smiled sadly at him and opened her arms. Max's lip began to tremble as he felt his walls come tumbling down.

"May!" Max cried, running towards May and wrapping his arms around her waist as he sobbed into her shoulder.

"Shhh, its okay, Max," May comforted as she wrapped her right arm around Max's mid-section and stroked his hair with her left hand. She closed her eyes and nuzzled her cheek against his as she waited for him to calm down.

"I-I l-lost, M-May," Max stuttered, shakily.

"That doesn't matter, Max. You tried your best and that's all that counts." May told him.

"But, I let down my pokemon, May. I let them get beat up and there was nothing I could do about it. I'm a failure," Max admitted, sadly.

"Hey! Don't you ever talk about yourself like that!" May shouted as she held Max's shoulders and pulled back, making him look up at her.

"How can I not, May!?" Max yelled. "When I left on this journey, I promised dad that I would make him proud, that I wouldn't let him down." Max said. "Not like last time," Max murmured, looking down. May sighed as she knelt down and lifted Max's chin to look her in the eye.

"Max, you can't let one loss get to you. I know you lost in the beginning rounds of the Johto League, last year, but that doesn't mean you're a failure. Remember, this is why you decided to take a break from competing so that you could review your battling technique. This is just a learning curve, so chin up, okay?" May consoled. "Besides, look at dad, whenever he loses in a gym battle to a trainer, you don't see him moping about, do you?" May asked.

"I guess not," Max mumbled, loud enough for May to hear.

"Exactly. No-one's the perfect trainer, Max. Everyone makes mistakes once in a while. You do, I do…" May trailed off, thinking of a way to convince Max. "…even Ash does." May finished.

"Ash!?" Max cried, shocked.

"Right." May replied, nodding her head. "Remember when I lost my battle back in Hearthome City?" May questioned. Max nodded his head in response. "Well, I was just about ready to give up too, but Ash gave me some much needed advice." May informed.

"What was it?" Max inquired.

"Ash told me that once he had a full 6-on-6 battle against one of his rivals, but he lost really badly. His pokemon all ended up in the emergency care unit of the pokemon center and seeing all his pokemon like that sent him into a depression knowing that he had caused all that." May responded. "However, he said that despite their injuries, all his pokemon came out just to see him. He may have blamed himself, but they didn't blame him one bit. They knew how much of a good trainer he was and that made them even more determined to help him achieve his dream because it wasn't just Ash's dream, it was theirs too." May added. Max's eyes widened and he gasped in realisation. May smiled, glad that he finally understood. "Don't forget, Max. I lost in the Grand Festival last year as well, and to Harley of all people," May said, muttering the last part, reluctantly, making Max chuckle. "My point is, although at first I did let it get me down, with the help of you, my friends and my pokemon, I got back on the ponyta and won my first Sinnoh ribbon." May reminded. "What I'm saying is, I didn't give up and neither should you," May encouraged. Max smiled at May's kind, loving words of advice.

"Thanks, May. I'm glad you're here with me. I missed you when you went travelling on your own." Max confessed.

"I missed you too." May replied, honestly, smiling at him.

"I love you, May." Max told her, giving her a hug.

"I love you too, Max." May responded, hugging him back. She kissed him on the forehead as she let him go.

"Hey, just because you're my sister doesn't mean you can kiss me." Max complained, wiping off May's kiss with the back of his hand.

"I'll kiss you whenever I want to, mister." May retorted, trying to give him another kiss.

"Aaah!" Max cried, running back down the corridor to where the others were. May giggled at her brother's childish actions.

'He's growing up.' May thought, with a small smile on her face. Suddenly, someone put a hand on her mouth and grabbed her from behind.

* * *

Brock walked down the corridor and headed towards the others.

"Hey Brock, I'm sorry about your loss," Ash said, sympathetically.

"That's okay. I don't really mind, it just felt great to battle again." Brock informed. "I think Max took the loss really hard, though." Brock admitted, looking back towards the corridor.

"Yeah, he looked really down after that loss," Misty whispered. "Poor Max," Misty murmured.

"Darren's Lucario was really strong though." Brock commented. "It had such confidence and power, a deadly combination for sure." Brock added.

"Right. The last time I saw a Lucario that strong was when I battled Maylene's Lucario back in Veilstone City." Ash remembered.

"Don't forget Daniel's Medicham." Kenny cut in, coming into the conversation. "Its psychic type moves were really strong, not to mention that it had moves from other types as well. That Medicham is definitely a well-trained pokemon." Kenny told them.

"They're going to be a tough team to beat." Dawn started as she walked over to them. "Do you think you and May are going to be able to beat them, Drew?" Dawn asked, looking at him. Drew turned to face her as a smirk appeared on his face.

"We could beat them with our eyes closed," Drew replied, arrogantly, flicking his hair as he strode over to them. The six of them continued to talk about the final battle when Max came running out.

"Max, are you alright?" Brock questioned, concerned.

"Don't worry, Brock, I'm fine. May talked to me and she helped me to realise that losing is a part of everyone's journey. It's how we handle these losses that makes us into who we are." Max answered.

"Well, I'm glad you're feeling better." Brock responded, smiling.

"Speaking of May, where is she?" Drew inquired.

"Huh?" Max said, looking back towards the entrance of the corridor. "I was just talking to her and then I came out here. I thought she was behind me…" Max trailed off, confused. Drew's eyes widened slightly as he suddenly became worried and set off down the corridor to find May. He heard a muffled cry and quickly walked over to where the sound was coming from. A male voice came into earshot from around the corner and he hid behind the wall next to them as he eavesdropped on the conversation.

"What do you think you're doing?" May asked as the person let go of her.

"Chill out, babe. I just wanted to talk to you." The person replied.

'Darren.' Drew thought as he gritted his teeth and clenched his fists.

"What do you want?" May questioned, slightly annoyed.

"Do I need I reason to talk to you?" Darren responded as he backed her up against the wall and placed his left hand by her head. He saw a shadow out of the corner of his eye and smirked, knowing exactly who it was. "So, how about you give me your number, cutie?" Darren breathed as he leaned in close to her.

"Uhh…" May muttered, nervously, as she pushed her head back against the wall.

"Get away from her," Drew growled as he stepped out of his hiding place. Darren turned to look at him with that same smirk on his face while May looked at him with an expression of surprise mixed with relief.

"I'll see you on the battlefield, _May_," Darren purred, purposely saying her name to aggravate Drew. He took her left hand in his right and kissed it slowly before winking at her as he left. Drew narrowed his eyes at Darren's back as many _interesting_ thoughts crossed his mind. A red blush spread across May's face as a result of the events that just transpired.

"Are you okay?" Drew asked, walking over to her.

"I'm fine." May told him, smiling.

"Well, the final battle will start soon, so why don't we head back over to the others and discuss battle strategies?" Drew suggested. May nodded in response as she and Drew walked back down the corridor.

* * *

"Welcome back, everyone! Now, it's time for the final battle to commence! The battle will be between the team of May and Drew against the team of Darren and Daniel." Enta announced.

"Blaziken, take the stage!" May called out. The red and yellow bipedal chicken pokemon appeared from its pokeball.

"Roserade, let's go!" Drew ordered. The green rose pokemon appeared from its pokeball.

"Lucario, let's show them a real battle!" Darren commanded. The blue and black canine pokemon appeared from its pokeball.

"Medicham, time to control our fate!" Daniel instructed. The pink bipedal, humanoid pokemon appeared from its pokeball.

"Looks like May and Drew are both going with their first pokemon." Kenny commented.

"Their strongest pokemon, too." Brock continued. "They must realise that their opponents won't be pushovers so they worked out a strategy for this battle. Smart move." Brock finished.

"Plus, Darren and Daniel are using the same pokemon as before. They must be pretty confident to do that." Max added.

"After you, Drew." Darren offered, smirking at him.

"My pleasure." Drew replied, smirking back. "Roserade, use solar beam!" Drew ordered.

"Rose!" Roserade yelled as it held its arms above its head and the flowers on the ends of its arms began to glow gold as it gathered energy.

"Lucario, aura sphere!" Darren commanded.

"Ari!" Lucario roared as it put its hands together and created a blue ball of energy. Lucario then fired it at Roserade.

"Blaziken, use fire spin!" May called out.

"Blaziken!" Blaziken bellowed as it opened its mouth and released a spiralling flame from its mouth at the opponent. The aura sphere moved through the fire spin, gaining more power as it sped towards Roserade.

"Now, use blaze kick!" May called out.

"Blaze!" Blaziken bellowed as the end of its right leg blazed in flames and it travelled through the fire spin, destroying the aura sphere and increasing the power of its kick as it got closer and closer to Lucario. While this was going on, Roserade's flowers returned to a normal colour as a golden orb of energy appeared in front of its flowers.

"Medicham, confusion!" Daniel instructed.

"Me-di!" Medicham shouted as it held out its hands and they became surrounded in light blue. Blaziken became outlined in light blue as Medicham controlled it and tossed it to the other side of the battlefield causing it quite a bit of damage as it was hurt by the super effective psychic type move. As Blaziken was thrown, a golden beam of energy was seen racing towards Medicham at lightning speed. Medicham had no time to dodge and was struck in the stomach as its back hit the wall behind it.

"Lucario, use metal claw!" Darren commanded.

"Car!" Lucario roared as the spikes on the tops of its paws began to glow white and grow, transforming into three claws. It ran forward and sprinted towards Roserade.

"Watch this, May." Drew said. "Roserade, use weather ball!" Drew ordered.

"Rose-!" Roserade yelled as it jumped in the air and held its arms up, creating an orange ball with fire streams around it.

"No way! Roserade learnt it already!?" May asked, shocked. Drew turned towards May with a smirk on his face as he winked at her, making May blush.

"-rade!" Roserade yelled as it threw the flaming orange ball at Lucario.

"Bone rush!" Darren commanded.

"Ar!" Lucario roared as it put its paws together and spread them apart creating a light green bone. It struck the center of the flaming ball with one end of the bone and twirled it around as it took control of the fire-type attack. It then tossed the bone and as Roserade was falling back down to the ground, the bone hurtled towards it and engulfed it in flames as it struck.

"Rose!" Roserade cried out in pain.

"Roserade, no!" Drew shouted, worried. Lucario jumped back and blew out the flames on the top of the bone before it disappeared. Darren smirked at Drew, silently taunting him. Drew growled, angered that his plan didn't work.

"Blaziken, use sky uppercut!" May called out.

"Ken!" Blaziken bellowed as both of its fists began to glow light blue and it dashed towards Lucario.

"Lucario, bone rush!" Darren commanded.

"Ar!" Lucario roared as it put its paws together and spread them apart creating a light green bone. It ran forward and used the bone to pole vault over Blaziken. May smirked knowingly at Darren's predictability.

"Blaze kick!" May called out.

"Blaze!" Blaziken bellowed as the end of its left leg blazed in flames and it outstretched its leg behind it as it struck Lucario in the back and sent it flying towards Roserade.

"Ar!" Lucario cried out in pain. Darren gritted his teeth in annoyance.

"Medicham, use high jump kick!" Daniel instructed.

"Cha!" Medicham shouted as it leapt into the air and struck Blaziken in the stomach with its left knee, knocking it back.

"Blaziken, use fire spin!" May called out.

"Blaziken!" Blaziken bellowed as it opened its mouth and released a spiralling flame from its mouth at Medicham. Medicham became surrounded by the flames as Blaziken regained its footing.

"Roserade, use sweet scent!" Drew ordered.

"Rade!" Roserade yelled as it held out its arms and released a light pink powder from its flowers, hoping to hit Lucario while it was down.

"Wow! Roserade learnt two new moves!" May cried, amazed.

"Of course. What did you expect?" Drew replied, smugly, as he flicked his hair.

"Force palm on the ground!" Darren commanded.

"Huh?" May and Drew said, in unison, confused. Darren smirked at their response.

"Cario!" Lucario roared as it fired a huge light green blast from its paw at the ground. The power from the blast made Lucario shoot up into the air, so as to avoid the attack, and also made the ground shake causing Blaziken to stumble backwards and be hit by the sweet scent instead.

"No way!" May cried, shocked.

"Whoa, look at that!" Max commented, surprised.

"That has to be the most amazing dodge I've ever seen!" Ash added, in awe. Misty elbowed him in the stomach causing him to look at her. She looked at Ash with disapproving eyes and a frown on her face while shaking her head at him. He sheepishly smiled back at her in response before they both returned their attention to the battle.

"Lucario, use metal claw!" Darren commanded.

"Car!" Lucario roared as the spikes on the tops of its paws began to glow white and grow, transforming into three claws. It ran forward and slashed Blaziken repeatedly while it was still under the effects of sweet scent.

"Come on, Blaziken, snap out it!" May shouted.

"Roserade, use solar beam on Lucario!" Drew ordered.

"Quick, Medicham, confusion!" Daniel instructed, immediately.

"Me-di!" Medicham shouted as it held out its hands and they became surrounded in light blue. Roserade became outlined in light blue as Medicham controlled it and lifted it into the air, preventing its attack.

"Rose!" Roserade cried as it struggled to get free. Meanwhile, Lucario was still attacking and Blaziken had been moving backwards, little by little, until it backed itself into the wall.

"Oh no..." May murmured, worried. Darren smirked, knowing this was the end.

"Force palm!" Darren commanded.

"Cario!" Lucario roared as it fired a huge light green blast from its paw at Blaziken, smashing it into the wall as it jumped away from the explosion. When the dust settled, Blaziken was on the floor, barely any energy left.

'What do I do?' May thought, panicking. Suddenly, she remembered a piece of advice that Misty gave her.

_"It's not always about pokemon types or moves in a battle. It can also be about the personality of a pokemon as well as their trainer._

"That's right," May whispered when an idea came to her.

"Lucario, finish this with bone rush!" Darren commanded.

"Ar!" Lucario roared as it put its paws together and spread them apart creating a light green bone. It ran forward and sprinted towards Blaziken.

"Get up, Blaziken! Where's that burning spirit!?" May shouted, trying to get through to her pokemon. "You and I have been through a lot together, from when we first started on our journey up until now. Back then, you were just a tiny little torchic, but we got stronger together and you evolved into a combusken before finally evolving into a blaziken." May reminisced. "I know you can beat them, Blaziken. You're strong enough to do this and we will do this. Together." May finished.

"Bla." Blaziken muttered as it struggled to get up. Drew watched as Lucario got closer and closer to Blaziken. Roserade was still being controlled by Medicham's confusion and was unable to do anything.

"Please, Blaziken. Please don't give up," May pleaded, tears in her eyes, as she helplessly watched her pokemon in pain.

"May!" Drew yelled as Lucario was about to strike.

"Blaziken!" May screamed, desperately. Instantly, Blaziken's eyes shot open as it responded to its trainer's plea.

"Blaziken!" Blaziken roared as it shot up and its right fist ignited with flames. Lucario was so close that it didn't have time to dodge or counter, so it got punched in the gut and sent flying straight back into Medicham, engulfing them both in flames. When Medicham was hit by the attack, it lost its control over Roserade and Roserade plummeted to the ground. Blaziken instinctively ran out and allowed Roserade to gracefully land on its head.

"What move was that, Blaziken?" May questioned.

"I think Blaziken just learnt fire punch, May." Drew told her.

"You did? Awesome!" May cried. Lucario and Medicham got back up, but the fire punch left them both with burn after effects.

"Roserade, use sweet scent!" Drew ordered.

"Rade!" Roserade yelled as it held out its arms and released a light pink powder from its flowers causing Lucario and Medicham to faint momentarily as they were hit by the attack.

"Now, use mega drain!" Drew ordered.

"Roserade!" Roserade shouted as it stuck out its arms and released two green beams from the flowers on its hands at Lucario and Medicham.

"Ar! Cham!" Lucario and Medicham cried out, simultaneously, as they were drained of their energy. Darren and Daniel gritted their teeth and clenched their fists as they watched their pokemon's energy deplete. Drew smirked, knowing that both pokemon were reaching their limit.

"You ready to wrap this up, May?" Drew asked, looking at his partner.

"Let's do it." May replied as she turned to Drew and winked at him. "Blaziken, use overheat!" May called out.

"Blaz-iken!" Blaziken bellowed as its body turned a faint red and it released a white fire with a red-orange fire spiralling around it at its opponents.

"Roserade, solar beam!" Drew ordered.

"Rose!" Roserade yelled as it held its arms above its head and the flowers on the ends of its arms began to glow gold as it gathered energy. The flowers on its hands returned to their normal colour once the energy had been gathered and a gold orb of energy appeared in front of Roserade's flowers. It then fired a golden beam of energy at the overheat. The two attacks fused together to form a powerful, blinding attack.

"We're not done yet!" Darren cried. "Lucario, use aura sphere!" Darren commanded.

"Ari!" Lucario roared as it put its hands together and put all of its remaining strength into the attack, creating a giant blue ball of energy. Lucario then fired it at the solar heat.

"Medicham, use ice punch!" Daniel instructed.

"Medi-cham!" Medicham shouted as its right hand began to glow bluish-white. It focused all of its energy on its fist as it attacked with as much power as it could muster. As Medicham threw a punch at the aura sphere, its body became surrounded in an icy glow. A ball of ice hit the aura sphere and surrounded it forming an impressive icy sphere fusion move. The two combination moves collided with so much force that a massive tornado filled the entire stadium. The energy could not be contained and the blinding white tornado, with rings of fire and ice spinning around it, was emitted from the roof of the stadium and shot straight up into the sky.

"Ah!" Everyone cried as they all shielded their eyes from all the dust and debris that was being blown around. When the violent attack eventually subsided, all four pokemon were still standing. Roserade stood by Blaziken's side and Medicham stood by Lucario's, in front of their trainers. The four pokemon stared each other down as they refused to give in. This continued for a while until Lucario and Medicham looked at each other and began smirking. Seconds later, they fell flat on their faces and collapsed on the ground, knocked out.

"Lucario and Medicham are unable to battle. Blaziken and Roserade win! Which means the victors are May and Drew!" The referee declared.

"What!?" Darren and Daniel yelled, in unison, unbelievingly.

"And that's it! The winners of the Hearthome tag battle competition are May and Drew!" Enta announced as the crowd broke into huge cheers and applause.

"We…" Drew started.

"…won." May finished. The two came to a sudden realisation and turned to face each other with wide open mouth smiles on their faces. May couldn't contain her joy and jumped at Drew as she wrapped her arms around his neck. In response, Drew wrapped his arms around her waist and spun her around as they two laughed, incredulously. Blaziken and Roserade turned to each other and smiled before Blaziken fist bumped Roserade's right red rose hand with its left fist.

"Alright! They did it!" Dawn cheered.

"Those two sure make one amazing team." Misty commented as she looked at May and Drew.

* * *

"And now, our winners, May and Drew, will be presented with their prize!" Enta announced. "Now, I hear that you're both coordinators, so this should help you out." Enta told them as he gave them their prize. May was given a blue scarf and Drew was given a green scarf.

"Thank you very much, sir!" May and Drew replied, in unison. The two of them headed over to their friends with their prizes in hand.

"May!" Max shouted as he ran over and gave his sister a huge hug. She returned the hug before pulling away until he was at arm's length.

"Hey Max, what did you think of our battle?" May asked.

"That was the best battle I've ever seen! You two rocked!" Max praised.

"Aww, thanks Max." May responded, giving Max another hug.

"Nice work, Drew." Kenny complimented, giving Drew a hi-five.

"Thanks." Drew said as May and Max walked over to them.

"What have you got there?" Misty asked, gesturing to May and Drew's prizes.

"Oh these? These are scarves that are held by a pokemon during a contest which raises a certain trait of the pokemon. So, seeing as Blaziken has mainly beauty moves, I was given a blue scarf and since Roserade has mainly smart moves, Drew was given a green scarf. It increases the contest condition of a pokemon without the need for Poffins or Pokeblock." May explained.

"I see. That's pretty neat." Misty commented. The eight of them then went to say their goodbyes to the other trainers that they had made friendships with over the course of the competition. After losing their battle, Barry had left in a rush saying he had to do a lot more training to become stronger and Conway had left saying there was more data that he needed to collect, but not before saying goodbye to Dawn, of course.

After parting ways with the other trainers, the gang walked out of the stadium as they prepared to head back to the pokemon center.

"May!" Someone called as they grabbed her arm and pulled her aside. The others pretended to continue talking, but were secretly watching and listening in.

"What is it, Darren?" May asked.

"After that battle with you, I realised that you're quite the skilled trainer and I find that very attractive in a woman. So, how about it? Me, you, a date. I'll pick you up at 8." Darren told her, smirking, confidently. Drew grit his teeth and clenched his fists in annoyance.

"I'm sorry, didn't you hear? Egoistic loser isn't anyone's type," May insulted as she smiled sweetly at him and walked away. Darren's jaw dropped causing the others to snicker quietly to themselves.

'She rejected me.' Darren thought, incredulously. 'No-one's ever rejected me before and that's not going to start now.' Darren thought, angrily, as he gripped May's arm tightly. Drew was about to go and help May when he saw her expression change. She lowered her head, so that her hair covered her eyes, and her smile was replaced with a menacing smirk that sent chills down Drew's spine.

"Kya!" May shouted as she elbowed Darren in the stomach and span around to face him. She grabbed his shoulders and kneed him in the privates before pushing him over and placing one foot on his chest.

"I know what you're thinking, so let me clear this up for you." May said. "I'm not most girls and if you touch me again, you'll suffer a fate worse than death. Got it?" May threatened. Darren nodded mutely and May took her foot of him, allowing him to scramble up and run away. May smirked at his retreating figure before turning around to face a group of shocked expressions. Everyone's eyes were wide and their jaws nearly hit the floor. "What? You can't have a fire/fighting type as your number one partner without picking up a few moves." May told them, with a wink, as she walked over to them.

"Respect, May!" Misty cried as she gave May a hi-five. Once everyone got over that last scene, they headed back towards the pokemon center.

* * *

When they got back, the group decided that they would go out tonight to celebrate May and Drew's win, but for now they would rest.

"Hey Max, I'm going to go and call mum. You want to come with me?" May asked.

"You can talk to her first and then I'll talk to her after." Max told her.

"Okay then." May replied. "Drew, do you want to come with me?" May questioned.

"Sure." Drew responded as he and May walked over to one of the video phones in the pokemon center. May dialed in the number of the Petalburg gym and after a few seconds, a woman with brunette hair pulled into two side ponytails and blue eyes appeared on the screen.

"Hello, Petalburg gym." The woman answered.

"Hi, mum." May replied.

"May sweetie, how are you?" Caroline asked.

"I'm fine, thanks." May responded.

"Max told me about the tag battle competition. How was it?" Caroline inquired.

"It was great! Drew and I won!" May told her, happily.

"Drew?" Caroline questioned, until she looked to the left of May and saw a boy with green hair standing there. "Is that really you, Drew? My, how you've grown!" Caroline said.

"Hi, Mrs Maple." Drew greeted.

"Please sweetie, call me Caroline." Caroline insisted. "Besides, from what I hear, you'll be a part of the family soon," Caroline teased with a wink, making both May and Drew blush furiously. They glanced at each other, but quickly turned away, their blushes increasing. Upon seeing their reaction, Caroline decided that she and May needed to have a girl chat.

"Drew sweetie, do you mind if I talk to May alone?" Caroline asked, politely.

"Not at all. It was nice to see you again, Caroline." Drew replied. "I'll be in my room, okay May?" Drew told her. May nodded her head in response and smiled as she watched Drew go. When she turned back towards her mother, Caroline had a cheeky grin on her face.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" May questioned.

"Aww, my May has a boyfriend. How cute!" Caroline cooed causing May to blush again.

"He's not my boyfriend mum." May responded.

"Right. He's your future husband," Caroline stated, teasingly, with a mischievous glint in her eye.

"Mum!" May shouted at the screen as the blush returned to her cheeks causing Caroline to giggle. "We're just friends." May informed.

"But you want to be more right?" Caroline said, knowingly. The blush on May's cheeks intensified, but she made no further argument. Suddenly, something clicked in Caroline's mind.

"Something happened between you two, didn't it?" Caroline asked.

"What!? No it didn't!" May protested.

"Yes it did. The way you two blushed so much is not normal for two people who consider themselves as 'just friends'." Caroline told her. The look on May's face just gave her away. "I knew it! What happened May? Did you hug? Did you hold hands? Did you kiss? You have to tell me all the details!" Caroline insisted, getting closer to the screen with each question. May panicked as she started to glance around the room.

'What do I do? There's no way I'm telling mum this!' May thought when suddenly, Max came into view.

"Uh, sorry, got to go mum! Max wants to talk to you! Bye!" May cried, quickly dismissing her mother, as she grabbed Max and put him in front of the screen before running away.

'That was too close.' May thought as she sighed with relief and walked to her room.

* * *

That night, the boys were waiting outside the girls' room as the girls got ready to go out for dinner. All the boys were dressed in casual clothes rather than their normal daywear. Ash was wearing a red short-sleeved t-shirt, with a blue pokeball print on it, on top of a pair of blue jeans and red hi-tops. Brock was wearing a beige long-sleeved t-shirt, with the buttons undone and the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, on top of a pair of faded blue jeans and dark brown trainers. Max was wearing an olive green short-sleeved shirt underneath a dark green cardigan with the sleeves rolled up, on top of a pair of black jeans and black converse. Drew was wearing a short folded sleeve denim shirt, with the buttons done up, on top of a pair of black skinny jeans and black vans. Kenny was wearing a long sleeved dark blue shirt underneath a black sweater, on top of black jeans and dark blue converse.

"We're done." Dawn announced as she and Misty walked out of the room. Dawn was wearing a white short-sleeved ruffled shirt underneath a pink high-waisted skirt that ended mid-thigh and white converse. She had her hair curled and left loose with a white hair band on top. Misty was wearing a long-sleeved black crop top that ended just above her belly button and light blue shorts that ended mid-thigh, on top of a pair of black tights and short black leather boots. She had hair tied in her usual side ponytail.

"Where's May?" Drew inquired.

"She was the last to take a shower, so she's just getting ready." Misty replied as she and Dawn walked over to the boys. Drew walked over to the door and knocked on it.

"Come on, May. What's taking so long?" Drew questioned.

"I'll be right out!" May shouted back. Drew stepped away from the door as it opened. May stood in the doorway wearing a yellow strapless chiffon skater dress, with a sweetheart neckline, that ended just above the knee underneath a long-sleeved light blue denim jacket and red flats. She had a hair out of its usual dog ear style and was left loose with gentle curls. Drew just stared at her, unable to form words, making May worry.

"What? Is it my hair? I know it's not in my usual bandana, but I thought a change would be good. Maybe I just go get-" May started as she turned to head back inside the room, but was cut off by Drew as he grabbed a hold of her arm.

"No! You actually look really pretty without your bandana, May. You should leave your hair out more often." Drew complimented.

"Oh, thanks." May responded, blushing. "Shall we go?" May asked everyone as she started to walk ahead.

"Wait!" Drew called, making her turn back towards him. He walked up to her and presented her with a red rose.

"I forgot to give you one earlier for battling well in the tournament." Drew told her as May took the rose and placed it behind her ear. He smiled at that gesture, thinking it made her look even prettier.

"Where are we going to go?" Max wondered.

"Well, seeing as May and Drew won, I think they should choose." Brock suggested.

"I picked last time, so Drew can pick this time." May offered.

"Alright, I heard there's a great bar/restaurant around here called Pokegrill." Drew said. Everyone nodded in agreement.

"Let's go. I'm starving!" Ash complained causing the others to laugh as they walked off.

* * *

When they all got there, the girls chose to sit at a table on the patio outside the restaurant because the restaurant was on a hill in front of the ocean, so there would be a good view from there. Everyone looked at the menu and decided on what they were going to eat. Ash chose a beef burger with chips, Misty had a spicy pasta dish, Brock had some tomato soup with a side of bread, Max and Kenny shared a pepperoni pizza, May had a huge beef steak with chips, Drew had macaroni and cheese and Dawn had a Caesar salad.

"May, how can you eat so much?" Drew asked, astounded.

"I had two really hard battles today. Naturally, I worked up an appetite." May replied.

"You do know that it was the pokemon doing the battling, not you." Drew pointed out.

"Yeah, well, my pokemon and I worked together as a team. Besides, I'm a growing girl." May added.

"Right," Drew responded, sarcastically.

*whack*

"What was that for?" Drew questioned, rubbing the back of his head.

"I detected sarcasm in that response." Misty informed.

"But I didn't even insult her." Drew told her.

"True, but knowing you, you were just about to, so it was a precautionary mallet whack." Misty justified. Drew groaned, knowing he wouldn't win, making May giggle. Everyone started talking about where they were going to head next, until…

"Wow!" Brock shouted as he spotted a pretty waitress. He was about to get up when he remembered his previous conversation with Ash. Brock looked at Ash, who winked at him in response and nudged his head towards the waitress. Brock smiled at him and ran after her.

"I'll go." Max decided as he started to get up.

"Hang on, Max. Let him be this time." Ash said, looking at Brock with a sad smile on his face.

"Huh?" Max replied, confused, looking at Brock.

After eating, everyone decided what they were going to do next.

"Well, I'll stay here and keep an eye on Brock. What are you going to do?" Max asked.

"Kenny and I will stay here as well and we can all talk battle strategies." Ash suggested to which Max and Kenny nodded their heads in response.

"It's a nice night out, so I'm going to go take a walk. Want to come with, May?" Drew questioned.

"Sure." May responded, smiling. "What about you guys?" May inquired, looking at Misty and Dawn. The two shared knowing looks and nodded at each other.

"Oh, well we're pretty tired, so I think we'll just head back to the pokemon center." Dawn lied.

"Okay then." May said as she and Drew walked off. Once they were out of sight, Misty and Dawn quickly followed the direction they were heading in.

* * *

May and Drew kept walking until they reached the beach down by the ocean. May sat down on the sand and patted the sand next to her as Drew walked over and sat down on her left side. Misty and Dawn walked down the path to the beach and ran over to the tall grass. They ducked down and hid behind the grass, to keep out of sight, but secretly spied on May and Drew as they listened into their conversation.

"The ocean looks so pretty tonight." May commented, glancing at the sparkling waters.  
"Come on out, Beautifly." May called. The black and yellow butterfly pokemon appeared from its pokeball.

"Hey, you too, Masquerain." Drew said. The light blue eyeball pokemon appeared from its pokeball.

"Beau! Mas!" Beautifly and Masquerain cried, simultaneously, as they flew towards each other. May and Drew smiled as their pokemon flew above them.

"Hey, May, was Beautifly the first pokemon you caught?" Drew asked.

"Yeah. You see, when we were heading to Rustboro City for Ash's gym battle, we passed by Rustboro hall. That's where I saw my first contest and there was a coordinator I met called Janet who had a Beautifly. At the time, I was still wary about pokemon, so we stayed to watch the contest and see what it was like. Max and I helped Janet with her performance and after seeing how Janet's Beautifly shined in both the appeals and battles, I decided that I was going to catch one of my own and become a coordinator." May explained.

"But, the fact that you get a pretty ribbon, when you win a contest, played a part in your decision, right?" Drew questioned, knowingly.

"Umm, maybe," May added, sheepishly, as she averted her eyes, making Drew roll his eyes as he shook his head at her.

"So, how did you catch Beautifly?" Drew inquired.

"Well, when we were passing through the forest one day, we came across a wurmple and I was determined to catch it, so that I could train it until it evolved into a Beautifly just like Janet's. The wurmple ran off so I chased after it when, as usual, Team Rocket decided to be annoying and get in my way by battling me for the wurmple. Since it was two against one, I was outnumbered, but a boy named Franklin stepped in and made them blast off with his Heracross. He then offered to help me seeing as I was pretty useless on my own." May replied.

"Naturally." Drew responded with a flick of his hair.

"Hey!" May cried, nudging him with her elbow, making Drew chuckle.

"I was just kidding. Sorry, please continue," Drew apologised as he let May continue.

"Anyway, as we search for the wurmple, I found some pecha berries and decide to get some. After I come back with the berries, we sit down to eat when Franklin spots a wurmple, so I prepare to catch it. Since I'd never caught a pokemon before, I just had Torchic tackle the wurmple before I threw a pokeball at it, but it easily escaped, so Franklin suggested I attack it using Torchic because fire types are good against bug types. I tell Torchic to use ember which weakens the wurmple and when I throw the pokeball at it this time, it stays caught. Then, I picked up the pokeball and started to celebrate, but Team Rocket steal my wurmple. Luckily for me, Franklin was there to help me out and we sent Team Rocket blasting off once again. Then, we went and found the others and I showed them my new wurmple. Ever since that day, Beautifly and I have been together." May finished.

"That's a cool story, May." Drew told her.

"Thanks. You know, Beautifly and I wouldn't even be together now if it wasn't for Franklin. I really do owe him a lot. I mean he was kind enough to help me, he was sweet, caring and kinda cute too…" May trailed off as she blabbed on about Franklin. Drew felt his fists tightening as he began to grit his teeth.

"Yeah well, he may have helped you to catch Beautifly, but I've given you lots of advice about coordinating, I've helped you out when Harley tried to trick you, I rescued you from Team Rocket and I've been there when you were feeling down. I've done a lot of things for you." Drew pointed out as he cut May off. He looked away from her and faced the ocean.

'Number 1 'Guys feel like they need to prove themselves, so he may talk about himself a lot' and number 5 'He will be jealous of other guys you talk about or may show an interest in' done for May.' Dawn thought to herself, smiling.

"I know that, Drew. You don't need to prove yourself to me. I'm-" May responded when she suddenly stopped as something clicked in her mind. Drew realised that she stopped short and turned to look at her only to be met by a smirk on May's face.

"What?" Drew questioned.

"You're jealous, aren't you?" May teased as she poked him in the arm.

"No I'm not!" Drew protested.

"Are too," May replied, in a sing-song voice.

"Am not!" Drew shouted as he moved his face closer to her.

"Are too!" May yelled, annoyed by his stubbornness, as she also moved her face closer to his.

"Am not!"

"Are too!"

"Am not!"

"Are to-" The two of them were now inches apart without them realizing. May was about to move closer when she spotted something moving out of the corner of her eye and stopped short. She pulled back and looked in the direction of where Misty and Dawn were hiding. Misty and Dawn quickly ducked down and hoped that she hadn't seen them.

"What's wrong, May?" Drew questioned.

"I thought I saw something…" May murmured as she recalled what she saw.

'Orange and blue?' May thought, confused, when she suddenly realised what it was. An annoyed look crossed her face until an idea came to mind and she began to grin, a mischievous glint in her eyes.

"May?" Drew said, warily, seeing the look on her face.

"Hey Drew, can I borrow Masquerain a minute, please?" May asked.

"Why?" Drew inquired. May whispered her plan into Drew's ear, who smirked when he realised what she was about to do. Drew nodded in agreement with her plan and she winked at him.

"Beautifly, Masquerain, come here a second," May called, quietly, as the two pokemon flew over and she told them the plan.

"Do you think she saw us?" Dawn wondered.

"I hope not," Misty muttered.

"Go!" May suddenly commanded.

"Tifly!" Beautifly cried as it used psychic. Its eyes began to glow blue and Misty and Dawn became outlined in blue.

"Aaah!" Misty and Dawn screamed as Beautifly controlled them and lifted them up into the air.

"Mas!" Masquerain shouted as it used ice beam. A light blue ball formed above its head and it shot light blue beams from the ball at Misty and Dawn, freezing them. May and Drew walked over to them laughing.

"I should have known." May said, shaking her head. "Okay you two, silver wind!" May commanded.

"Beauti! Querain!" Beautifly and Masquerain shouted, in unison, as they flapped their wings and a gust of wind, with silver crescents in it, was released at Misty and Dawn, breaking the ice. The two of them shook their heads and wrapped their arms around themselves due to the sudden cold they were feeling. They then looked up and saw May and Drew looking at them with irked expressions on their faces.

"Oh, hi May, small world, huh?" Dawn replied, nervously.

"You were spying on us!" May cried.

"No we weren't!" Misty retorted.

"Oh yeah, then what would you call it? You sneaked up on us, eavesdropped on our conversation and even hid in tall grass." Drew stated.

"Yeah… well…" Misty trailed off, failing to think of an argument. "Okay fine, we were spying on you. We were just bored." Misty admitted.

"That's still no excuse. Go find something to do elsewhere." May told them as she pointed towards the pokemon center.

"Alright fine, we'll let you two continue you on your date, " Dawn teased, making May and Drew blush. Luckily for them, the darkness of the night helped to hide it. Misty and Dawn got up and started to walk away slowly, on purpose, which irritated May.

"Oh, what's that? I think I see two girls over there flirting with Ash and Kenny." May lied.

"What!?" Misty and Dawn shouted as they sprinted off towards the restaurant.

"That should keep them busy for a while." May said, giggling, as she and Drew sat back down on the sand and Beautifly and Masquerain continued playing.

"So Drew, was Roserade the first pokemon you caught?" May asked.

"Actually, I didn't catch Roserade." Drew confessed.

"Really? Then how did you get it?" May inquired. As soon as the words left her mouth, Drew's face hardened and his eyes darkened as he looked away from her. She guessed that it was a sensitive subject for him and that maybe she shouldn't have asked.

"Oh, Drew. I'm sorry, you don't have to-" May started but was cut off.

"No. I-I want to." Drew replied, still not looking at her. "My sister gave me Roserade when it was just a budew." Drew answered.

"Sister? I didn't know you had a sister." May said.

"That's just it. 'Had' is the key word here." Drew responded. "Her name was Rose Hayden and she was a renowned pokemon trainer." Drew stated.

'Rose Hayden. Where have I heard that name before?' May thought. 'Oh, I know!' May thought as she remembered something.

"I think I remember watching a news story on that when I was younger. Wasn't she the trainer who was killed in that freak storm?" May questioned.

"Right. It all started when I was 8 years old." Drew told her as he remembered his past.

_**Flashbacks**_

"And it's another win for Rose Hayden!" The host announced. "This is her third league win in a row! She is definitely a formidable trainer." The host complimented.

"Alright! She won!" A young Drew cheered as he sat at home and watched his sister compete in the Johto League on TV.

"Yes and when she comes home, you can learn how to be a great trainer just like your sister." Drew's mother told him.

"Okay!" Drew replied, excited.

….

"So, I waited at home, anticipating my sister's return so that she could teach me all about pokemon battles." Drew said as he continued.

….

The door of Drew's house opened and in walked Rose.

"I'm home!" Rose called.

"Rose!" Drew shouted as he ran up to her and gave her hug.

"Hi Drew." Rose responded as she hugged him back and ruffled his hair. "Now, a little birdie told me that you want to learn all about pokemon battles, is that right?" Rose asked.

"Yeah!" Drew cried, his smile bright, making Rose giggle.

"Alright then, come on, I'll give you your first lesson." Rose told him as she and Drew went to the back garden. "Okay, now I think it would be best if you tried battling first to see how you are with it. Here, I'll let you borrow my Umbreon and I'll use Espeon." Rose decided as she released her two pokemon. The black and yellow dog-like pokemon and the lilac quadruped, mammalian pokemon appeared from their pokeballs. "Umbreon, I'm getting Drew used to battling, so I want you to be his partner for this battle, okay?" Rose instructed. Umbreon nodded in response as it ran over to Drew.

"What moves can it use?" Drew inquired.

"It can use sand attack, shadow ball, psychic and flash." Rose informed. "Do you remember the advantages and disadvantages of different pokemon types?" Rose questioned.

"Yep." Drew responded.

"Then let's begin." Rose decided. "Espeon, use quick attack!" Rose commanded.

"Espe!" Espeon cried as it ran at fast speed towards Umbreon, leaving a white trail behind it.

"Umbreon, use flash!" Drew ordered.

"Bre!" Umbreon roared as the yellow rings on its body began to light up and glow brightly, giving off a bright light.

"Spin and use tackle!" Rose commanded.

"Pe!" Espeon cried as it somersaulted through the flash, unaffected, and then unfurled as it tackled Umbreon head on.

"No way!" Drew shouted.

"It was a good defence tactic, Drew, but you're going to have to do better than that to beat me." Rose told Drew, making him grit his teeth.

"Umbreon, use shadow ball!" Drew ordered.

"Umbre!" Umbreon roared as it opened its mouth and formed a black and purple ball in front of it. It then fired it at Espeon.

"Dodge!" Rose commanded. Espeon easily jumped out of the way, making Drew clench his fists.

"Keep firing shadow balls until it hits!" Drew ordered.

"Umbre!" Umbreon roared as it opened its mouth and formed a black and purple ball in front of it. It then fired it at Espeon and repeated this process many times.

"Keep dodging!" Rose commanded. Espeon gracefully jumped around, like a ballerina, as it dodged Umbreon's shadow balls, easily. A small smile formed on Rose's face, seeing a younger version of herself in Drew.

….

"This carried on for a while, but even though I was really excited about it, something happened." Drew added.

….

As the battle progressed, Rose noticed the spark in Drew's spirit had diminished. She decided to test this theory. Both pokemon were tired and had nearly reached their limit.

"Espeon, use swift!" Rose commanded.

"Peon!" Espeon cried as it opened its mouth and yellow stars shot out of its mouth at Umbreon.

"Psychic," Drew ordered, unenthusiastically. Rose picked up on this and frowned.

"Breon!" Umbreon roared as its eyes began to glow light blue and the stars became outlined in blue. It then sent them flying back towards Espeon.

"Finish it with quick attack!" Rose commanded.

"Espe!" Espeon cried as it ran at fast speed towards the attack, leaving a white trail behind it. It leapt up and jumped from star to star as it raced across. It closed in on Umbreon and hit it, knocking it out.

"You win," Drew muttered as he sat down on the grass. Rose sighed and walked over to him. She took a seat next to him and put her arm around him.

"What's the matter, Drew?" Rose asked.

"I don't know. I was all into the battle at first, but then I became bored with it." Drew admitted, playing with the grass.

"I thought so. This means that being a pokemon trainer just isn't for you." Rose told him.

"But, what will I do!" Drew cried, worried, as he looked up at her.

"Don't worry, Drew. There are other career paths for you to follow, you just need to find the right one, that's all." Rose reassured.

"Like what?" Drew inquired.

"Well, there's too many to go through right now." Rose replied as she thought of an idea. "Tell you what. I'm staying for another week, so let me have a think and I'll get back to you, okay?" Rose suggested.

"Okay, thanks!" Drew responded, hugging his older sister. She laughed and ruffled his hair.

"Drew! Rose! Dinner's ready!" Their mother called.

"Oh boy!" Drew shouted as he ran inside, making Rose laugh again as she followed him.

….

"So, for the next week, whenever I did something I always found that Rose was there watching me and I didn't understand why until that one day." Drew explained.

….

"Hey Drew, do you want to come on a trip with me?" Rose questioned.

"Sure." Drew replied.

"Mum! Drew and I are going out for a while! We'll be back in time for dinner!" Rose called.

"Okay, be safe!" Their mother shouted back.

"Come on out, Altaria!" Rose beckoned. The blue phoenix pokemon appeared from its pokeball. Rose put Drew on Altaria and got on behind him as she told Altaria to fly.

"Where are we going?" Drew asked.

"You'll see when we get there." Rose responded.

….

"Cool! Your sister had an altaria!" May cried, in awe, making Drew chuckle.

"Yeah. It was the first pokemon she caught, actually, back when it was a swablu." Drew told her before he resumed telling her about his past.

….

After flying for about half an hour, Altaria finally landed in front of a big building. Rose dismounted and lifted Drew off Altaria as she placed him on the ground.

"Thanks, Altaria. Return." Rose thanked her pokemon as she returned it to its pokeball.

"Where are we?" Drew asked.

"This is Lilycove City and this is a contest hall." Rose responded.

"A contest hall?" Drew said, confused.

"Right. This is where pokemon coordinators compete. Coordinators are similar to trainers except when they battle, they focus more on the beauty of the moves rather than the power." Rose informed. "Let's go take a look, shall we?" Rose suggested. Drew nodded his head in response and the two of them walked inside. As they sat down in the stands, a woman with orange hair and blue eyes, who was wearing a pink puffy dress, came out on stage.

"Hello everyone, and welcome to the Lilycove contest! My name is Vivian and I'll be your MC!" Vivian announced as the crowd broke out into cheers. "Here are our judges. Chief of the pokemon activities committee, Mr Contesta!" Marian announced.

"It's great to be here." Mr Contesta replied.

"President of the pokemon fan club, Mr Sukizo!" Marian announced.

"Remarkable!" Mr Sukizo responded, loudly.

"And finally, our very own, Nurse Joy!" Marian announced.

"It's nice to see all the coordinators and their pokemon." Nurse Joy commented.

"Okay, our first contestant is Marie!" Vivian called as the curtain was raised. There stood a girl with long brown hair, tied in a high ponytail, and hazel eyes. She was wearing a yellow blouse and pink leggings with pink flats.

"Roserade, on stage!" Marie called. The green rose pokemon appeared from its pokeball.

"Roserade, use weather ball!" Marie instructed.

"Rose-rade!" Roserade shouted as it held its arms up and created an orange ball with fire streams around it before throwing it up into the air.

"Now, use magical leaf!" Marie instructed.

"Rose!" Roserade shouted as it stuck out its hands and released glowing light green leaves from the flowers at the end of its arms. The leaves struck the fiery ball and each leaf became surrounded in fire.

"Mega drain on the leaves!" Marie instructed.

"Roserade!" Roserade shouted as it stuck out its arms and released a green beam from the flowers on its hands at the flaming leaves, encasing each leaf in a green glow.

"Finish it with poison sting!" Marie instructed.

"Rade!" Roserade shouted as it released a spray of multiple purple darts at the leaves, resulting in a multi-coloured firework display. Marie and Roserade bowed, simultaneously, as their performance came to an end and the crowd broke out into cheers and applause.

"Wow!" Drew cried, his eyes sparkling at the sight. Rose smiled, knowing she made the right decision.

"So Drew, is this what you want to do?" Rose inquired.

"You bet!" Drew replied, excited. "But, how did you know?" Drew questioned.

"Well, over the past week, I've been watching you in everything that you do and picked up on a few things. First of all, when it comes to drawing and colouring pictures, you're very meticulous about it. You pay great attention to detail and are always careful to stay inside the lines. Second, when you watch pokemon battles on TV, I can see you narrow your eyes every now and again as you criticize the way a pokemon moves and how it attacks and defends. Finally, you love things of beauty, like mum's flowers at home. From all of that, I figured that being a pokemon coordinator would be the perfect career path for you." Rose explained. Drew nodded his head in agreement and turned back to watch the rest of the contest.

….

"So, that's why you became a coordinator?" May asked.

"Yeah. Without my sister's help I wouldn't have become one." Drew said.

"Well, she made a good decision then because you're so passionate about coordinating." May replied. "Anyway, you still haven't explained how you got Roserade." May told him.

"Right. My sister went on another journey the next day and all the way up until I was 10 I would watch her battles, as well as watch contests and research as much about them and pokemon as I could. However, I could always tell that my parents judged me for wanting to become a coordinator rather than a trainer, but I paid it no mind. Until the day I set out on my journey." Drew responded as he remembered another memory from his past.

….

Drew was standing outside of the house as he prepared to set off on his journey. His parents were standing in the doorway, along with Rose, who had come to see her brother off.

"Okay, well I better get going." Drew said.

"You make sure you stay safe now and call us when you can." Their mother responded.

"We're very proud of you, Drew, so go out there and be the best you can be." Their father encouraged.

"I will, dad." Drew replied.

"Here, Drew. I wanted to give you something to help you out on your journey, so I caught this for you when I was in Sinnoh." Rose told him as she placed a pokeball in his hands.

"Cool! My first pokemon!" Drew cheered as he opened the pokeball and a green rosebud pokemon appeared from its pokeball.

"That's called a budew and with enough training it will eventually evolve into Roserade, just like the one you saw at the Lilycove contest." Rose informed.

"Thanks Rose!" Drew cried, gratefully, as he gave her hug. He released her and returned the budew to its pokeball.

"You're welcome. Now, go have fun and make good memories." Rose responded as she waved goodbye to him.

"Bye!" Drew called as he waved back and walked off. However, he knew in the back of his mind that Rose was the only one that was genuinely happy for him, so when they weren't looking, he hid by the side of the house and listened in to their conversation through the open window.

"Why did you have to let him go like that?" Their father questioned, annoyed as they walked inside the house.

"If you hadn't taken him to that contest then he would have become a trainer just like he wanted to. I mean, what will we tell people!?" Their mother added.

"Is that all you really care about? Drew didn't want to become a pokemon trainer, so he became a coordinator, just like how I became a trainer." Rose replied. Their mother muttered something incomprehensible that Drew couldn't hear, but Rose managed to hear it and her nose turned up in disgust.

"How can you say that!? You're so sexist!" Rose shouted, angered.

"No, it's our views. Only boys should be trainers and only girls should be coordinators." Their mother stated.

"Grrr! I can't believe you! Look, I only came home for Drew, so I'm not staying here any longer than I have to. Goodbye!" Rose yelled as she slammed the door and left in a huff. Drew gritted his teeth and clenched his fists in frustration.

'I'll prove you wrong, mum and dad.' Drew thought, determined as he set off on his journey.

….

"I see now. Your sister was the one who gave Roserade to you." May said.

"That's right. Roserade and I have been number one partners ever since." Drew told her.

"Aww, that's nice." May replied. "But, if you don't mind me asking, what happened to your sister?" May inquired, cautiously.

"Well, it happened a couple of weeks after my first contest." Drew responded as he told May about that fateful day.

….

Drew entered the Verdanturf pokemon center and walked up to Nurse Joy.

"Hi, Nurse Joy. Could you take care of my pokemon please?" Drew questioned.

"Of course." Nurse Joy replied. She took in his appearance and remembered a previous conversation that she had earlier. "Excuse me, but are you Drew Hayden?" Nurse Joy asked.

"Yes." Drew responded.

"Oh, you have a phone call." Nurse Joy informed as she showed him to the video phone.

"Thank you." Drew thanked Nurse Joy as she walked off. He answered the call and Drew's parents appeared on the screen. They both had sombre expressions on their faces which made Drew worry.

"Mum? Dad? What's wrong?" Drew inquired. Drew's mother and father looked at each other before turning back towards Drew.

"It's Rose." Drew's mother said. As soon as those words left his mother's mouth, he dashed out of the pokemon center and got on the nearest ferry back to LaRousse City. Within a few hours, he was there. As soon as he got off the ferry, he raced back to his house to find out what the problem was.

"Mum? Dad?" Drew called as he walked through the door.

"Drew!" Drew's mother cried as she hugged him tight and started to cry.

"Mum? What's wrong with Rose?" Drew asked. As soon as the question left his lips, his mother let go of him and looked down at the floor. Drew's father knew she couldn't bring herself to tell him, so he stepped in for her.

"Your sister watched your contest on TV while she was in Kanto and she felt really bad when you lost, so she took Altaria and they flew over to come and see you." Drew's father told him.

"But that was two weeks ago. I haven't seen her." Drew replied.

"Well, seeing as you have been travelling around, you may not have seen the news. The day your sister left, she called us and we warned her about a storm that was supposed to occur that day but she didn't want to listen. She was so determined to come and see you, so she left the same day, but the storm grew worse and both she and Altaria were struck down. Their bodies washed up on shore the next day, but they were already gone." Drew's father informed. Drew gasped as he felt himself tearing up.

"No… you're lying..." Drew whispered.

"I wish we were Drew," Drew's mother murmured. Having to accept the truth, he asked the awful question.

"When's the funeral?" Drew inquired. Drew's mother looked at Drew's father and he nodded.

"It was yesterday." Drew's father responded. Drew forgot all about his sadness and suddenly grew angry.

"What!? You had the funeral without me!" Drew yelled.

"Well, you were busy with your coordinating and we didn't want to upset you-" Drew's mother reasoned, but was cut off Drew.

"Don't give me that! I know you hated the fact that I became a coordinator and Rose became a trainer. I secretly listened in to your conversation the day I left and now you're making us pay for 'going against the norms of society'. How could you do that, you miltank!?" Drew shouted, furious.

"Drew, don't talk to your mother like that!" Drew's father scolded. "Your mother and I did what we thought was best." Drew's father stated.

"That's a load of crap and you know it!" Drew spat harshly. "From this point on, I have no parents. I couldn't care less if you were dead. I HATE YOU!" Drew screamed as he ran out of the house and slammed the door. He sprinted all the way to the LaRousse City cemetery and found Rose's grave. The tombstone was enough proof to make him realise that this was not a dream, but reality. His body started to tremble as tears began to brim at his eyes. He collapsed onto the floor and started to blubber uncontrollably.

"Why did you leave me!?" Drew cried.

_**End Flashbacks**_

"Oh Drew…" May murmured, sorrow filling her heart. Drew looked down as he let his hair cover his eyes.

"I-I didn't even get t-to say goodbye," Drew croaked as tears streamed down his face.

"Drew, come here," May said, sympathetically, as she wrapped her arms around him and pulled him towards her. All the barriers that he had previously put up crumbled as he completely broke down. Sobs racked his body as he cried into her shoulder. She left her right arm wrapped around his mid-section and used her left hand to stroke his hair in an attempt to calm him down.

"It'll be okay," May whispered in his ear. The action made Drew's body tense, but eventually he let his guard down as he slowly wrapped his arms around her waist, tightly, and his sobs began to subside. After he stopped crying, he loosened his grip on her and buried his nose in her hair, taking in deep breaths as her scent filled his nose, making him feel at peace. May blushed at this but continued to hold onto him, enjoying their closeness.

'This feels like déjà vu.' May thought.

"Why did she leave me, May?" Drew mumbled into her hair.

"She didn't want to, but that was what fate decided." May replied.

"It was my fault though, wasn't it?" Drew said as he released his hold on her and looked at the ocean. "That's why my parents didn't let me go to her funeral." Drew figured.

"Drew, it was an accident. No-one could have done anything about it." May reassured. "Your parents were wrong to do what they did. No matter what, everyone should get the chance to say goodbye." May stated.

"Yeah, but if I'd just worked harder, then I wouldn't have lost, she wouldn't have flown over to see me and she would still be alive. My parents were right. I should never have become a coordinator," Drew admitted, sadly.

"Hey!" May shouted as she grabbed Drew's chin with her right hand thumb and forefinger and turned his head towards her so that she could look him in the eye. Drew's face displayed a mix of surprise and confusion at her sudden outburst. "You worked as hard as you could to prepare for that contest, but as you said, there's always someone better and at that time it was Solidad because she had more experience you. Plus, even if you did win, I think that your sister would still have flown over so that she could congratulate you. As for the timing, she could have waited, but even after the warning from her parents, she still decided to fly." May told him. "She must be where you get your stubbornness from." May commented, making Drew give a small chuckle. "Besides, I for one think that your parents were wrong. Sure, you could have become a pokemon trainer, but ask yourself this. Would you have been happy?" May asked. Drew thought about this for a while before he came to his answer.

"No." Drew concluded.

"Right. Just look how far you've come Drew. You may not have won any ribbon cups yet, but you've gotten to the finals of the Grand Festival before, you've met loads of good rivals, you even have your own group of fans." May listed, making Drew smile a bit. "But, most of all, you've made loads of amazing memories, just like Rose wanted. With the gang, with Solidad... with me…" May managed to choke out as a silent tear slid down his cheek.

"Hey, why are you crying?" Drew asked as he wiped the tear away with his thumb.

"I-I just hate to see you like this. I don't want you to give up on coordinating, but in the end it's your decision. Plus, seeing you upset, makes me upset with your parents and your sister. I mean I still complain about Max when I have all my family and friends and I just don't realise how lucky I really am because I'm just selfish and ungrateful and-" May babbled when she was cut off by Drew pulling her into a tight hug. He wrapped his arms around her waist as she wrapped her arms around his neck and began to weep.

"I'm sorry. I'm acting like such an idiot." May apologised as she laughed a little.

"No, no it's okay. It's actually really sweet to know that you care." Drew told her, honestly.

"Of course I care about you Drew, you're my best friend, why wouldn't I?" May said, confused, as she pulled back slightly.

"I know that, May, I was just saying." Drew responded as May wiped her eyes.

"Out of curiosity, how old would you sister have been?" May inquired.

"She would have been 24, a week from now." Drew answered as he brushed the hair away from her face and tucked it behind her ear."

"Oh." May replied. "You know, your sister would have been proud of you." May told him.

"Yeah." Drew breathed, a small smile on his face. "I think you were right when you said that Rose would be happy I made lots of memories, but do you want to know what my favourite memory is?" Drew questioned.

"What's that?" May wondered.

"Meeting you," Drew murmured as he leaned his forehead on May's, making them both blush a bit.

"Me too." May replied, smiling. The two hugged again and sat down by the beach for a little while longer as they watched the ocean in peaceful silence.

* * *

When the two became tired, they headed back to the pokemon center and Drew walked May to her room.

"Hey Drew, is your sister the reason why roses are your favourite flower?" May asked as they stopped in front of her door.

"Yeah. My sister was the only person that was there for me and supported me in everything I did, so after she died, I would give roses to people who were special to me like she was." Drew informed.

"That's nice." May replied, smiling.

"You want to know a secret?" Drew whispered as he placed his right hand by the side of his mouth and leaned in towards her.

"Sure." May responded as she leaned in towards him.

"Red roses are given to the most special person in my life." Drew told her with a wink as he produced a red rose from nowhere and gave it to her. May blushed slightly as she took the red rose from his hands and was left speechless. She focused on the rose, unable to look him in the eye, as she realised what he meant.

"And May?" Drew said causing May to look up at him. "Thanks. For everything. I've never told anyone about my past. Not even Solidad." Drew confessed as he kissed her on the cheek and pulled back, smiling, with a red blush on his face and walked back to his room, leaving a dumbfounded May blushing madly outside her room. Once she came to her senses, she checked her watch to see what time it was.

'11:30pm. Wow, we stayed out pretty late. The others must be asleep.' May thought as she slowly opened the door and saw all the lights off. She quietly closed the door behind her and leaned against it as she released a happy sigh. Suddenly, the lights flicked on and Misty and Dawn were in her face.

"Um, hello," May greeted, nervously.

"And where have you been, missy?" Dawn inquired.

"Do you know what time it is?" Misty playfully scolded. May gulped, knowing where this was heading.

"I know it's late, but I'm pretty exhausted from battling today, so I think I'm just going to- Aaah!" May started but was cut off as Dawn dragged her to her bed.

"No way. We have been waiting up all night for you, so you are going to spill and tell us everything." Dawn told her. May sighed, knowing they would never let her sleep until she did.

"Well, I had a really nice time tonight. Drew opened up to me and I feel like we really connected on an emotional level." May replied.

'Number 15 'He's willing to open up to you' done. Three in one night, nice going, Drew.' Dawn thought.

"Why all the blushing?" Misty asked, slyly.

"Uh well, we did hug quite a bit and he did lean his forehead on mine at one point. Plus, he gave me another rose and said that he gives red roses to the most special person in his life before kissing me on the cheek and walking off to his room." May admitted, blushing furiously, as she looked down and played with the petals of the rose, smiling.

"Aww, sounds like someone's in love!" Dawn cooed.

"What!? No I'm not!" May protested.

"May and Drew, sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G," Misty teased.

"Shut up!" May shouted as she got into bed and covered herself with her blanket. Misty rolled her eyes and Dawn started giggling.

"Night guys." Dawn said as she turned off the lights in their room.

* * *

Drew walked into his room, a happy grin plastered on his face. Ash, Brock and Max were asleep, but Kenny was still awake, reading a book on coordinating.

"Looks like someone had a good night." Kenny commented, smirking.

"Like you wouldn't believe." Drew responded, in too much of a daze to think of a comeback.

'I'm so going to tease him about this later.' Kenny thought, sniggering, as he put his book down before turning off the lights.

* * *

_**Hope you guys enjoyed it! This is the longest chapter I have ever written! The reason why I'm updating quicker than before is because I have a lot of revision to do over the Easter holidays, so I may not update again for the next few weeks. Sorry = ( Please R&amp;R!**_

_**xBandanaRosesx**_


	15. Chapter 14 - The Road to Oreburgh

_**Hi guys! Here's the next instalment of 'Symptoms of Love'. Enjoy!**_

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon or any of the characters **_

* * *

**Chapter 14 – The Road to Oreburgh**

* * *

The next morning, Drew was rudely awoken by the harsh light of the morning sun. He sat up slowly and blinked a few times as his eyes adjusted to the light. After rubbing his eyes, he looked around his room and saw Kenny making up his bed.

"Morning sunshine." Kenny greeted. Drew grumbled as he pulled off his blanket and swung his legs over the side of the bed.

"What time is it?" Drew asked.

"11:00am." Kenny replied.

"11:00am!" Drew yelled as he jumped up from his bed. "Why didn't you wake me up!?" Drew shouted.

"Well, I was going to, but you had such a happy smile on your face that I didn't want to wake you." Kenny responded. Drew thought back and smiled as he remembered the great dream that he had last night.

"Oh yeah, I had the best dream…" Drew trailed off, dreamily.

"Was it perhaps about you and May sitting by the beach under the moonlight?" Kenny inquired, knowingly. Drew snapped out of his thoughts and looked at Kenny in surprise.

"Yeah, how did you-" Drew started, but was cut off by Kenny.

"Oh, because it wasn't a dream. You came back to the room late last night with such a happy grin plastered on your face, it was priceless." Kenny told him, biting his laugh to keep him from laughing.

"No I didn't!" Drew protested.

"Yeah you did. I asked you if you had a good night and you said "like you wouldn't believe"." Kenny added as he acted how Drew did last night before bursting into fits of laughter.

"Shut up!" Drew retorted, embarrassed, as he threw his pillow at Kenny. Kenny caught the pillow and noticed that Drew's cheeks were all red.

'I think he's suffered enough.' Kenny thought as he considered teasing Drew some more, but decided against it.

"Anyway, you might want to get changed. Everyone's waiting in the lobby and they want to get going to Oreburgh." Kenny informed.

"What!? Even May!?" Drew questioned, incredulously.

"Yep." Kenny replied, sniggering.

"Oh man, she's never going to let me live this down!" Drew cried as he rushed off to the bathroom and slammed the door shut behind him. Kenny chuckled at his friend's behaviour and went to join the others in the lobby.

* * *

An hour later, Drew was finally ready and found the others waiting for him outside.

"About time," Ash commented, irritated at having to wait around.

"Morning sleeping beauty," May teased as she walked up to Drew with a grin on her face.

"Alright, you enjoy this now because it won't happen again." Drew informed.

"Don't worry, I intend to." May replied. "Here, I got you some breakfast." May told him as she handed him a bag of rice balls.

"Thanks," Drew responded, gratefully, as he took the bag from her. As he was about to open the bag, he glanced at May from the corner of his eye. He saw her grin getting wider and raised an eyebrow at her.

"What?" Drew said, curious.

"Nothing." May told him as she turned away from him and looked towards the sky. "It's just that a little hoot hoot told me that you had a dream about me last night," May added in a sing-song voice as she glanced at him from the corner of her eye with a smirk on her face. Immediately, Drew's face turned the shade of a tamato berry and he glared, murderously, at Kenny.

"Kenny…" Drew growled, as he gritted his teeth and clenched his fists. Kenny chuckled nervously as he backed away, slowly.

"I'll see you guys in Oreburgh!" Kenny called as he gave them a two-finger salute and raced off into the distance.

"Get back here!" Drew yelled as he sprinted after him. The others laughed at their antics before running after them.

* * *

As the gang entered the forest on route 208, Misty started to grip Max's arm tightly.

"Misty? What's wrong?" Max asked.

"Are there b-bugs in this forest?" Misty inquired, scared.

"Um, no, there shouldn't be any in this forest." Brock informed.

"Phew." Misty replied as she breathed a sigh of relief. Suddenly, Ash started to grin at Misty's back as an idea came to him.

"Hey, watch this," Ash whispered to Kenny as he sneaked up behind Misty and pinched her neck.

"AAAHH! GET IT OFF!" Misty screamed as she jumped up and flailed her arms around like an idiot. This continued until she heard Ash sniggering and she realised what he did. She growled as she turned to face him and saw him doubled over with laughter. Her eyes darkened and she started to grin evilly as she took out her gold plated mallet, made specifically for him. The others shuddered and gulped in fear as they watched Misty raise her mallet high in the air.

"ASH!" Misty yelled as her mallet came crashing down and made contact with Ash's skull. Ash was sent flying into a tree and was knocked out instantly.

"Pika!" Pikachu shouted as it ran over to its trainer. Misty breathed heavily as she glared at him before putting her mallet away and turning back towards the others.

"So, shall we go?" Misty suggested as if nothing had happened.

"Uh…" Brock trailed off as he observed Ash's state before turning back towards Misty. "I think now would be a good time to have lunch." Brock replied as he started setting up for lunch.

"Great!" May cheered.

"You and your appetite, May." Drew commented, chuckling. "Kenny and I will go collect wood for the fire." Drew told them as he and Kenny walked off.

"Can we help, Brock?" Dawn questioned.

"Yeah. Could you lay the table please?" Brock requested.

"Sure." Dawn responded. "Everybody out!" Dawn called as all her pokemon appeared in a flash of light

"You too!" Misty, May, Max and Brock cried as they released their pokemon.

"Time to help out you guys." Dawn told the pokemon as they all nodded in agreement. Pikachu scurried over to the others and Buneary ran up to it. Pikachu sweat dropped as Buneary went all lovey-dovey over it. The pokemon got to work straight away. Pachirisu, Pikachu and Piplup helped to lay the table, with Dawn's help, while May and Max laid out the blanket and Kirlia, Poliwhirl, Buneary, Politoed, and Wartortle helped get out the food bowls and pokemon food. Meanwhile, Sudowoodo was watching Brock cook when Happiny jumped up on the table.

"Do you want to help, Happiny?" Brock asked.

"Hap." Happiny responded as Brock gave it the ladle and it began to stir the pot.

"Hey, Mamoswine. There should be a water source nearby, do you want to help me get some water?" Misty questioned.

"Mam." Mamoswine said as it followed Misty towards the water source. May looked around at all the hard-working pokemon and noticed that two pokemon were missing.

"Where's Snorlax and Munchlax?" May inquired.

"Right here." Max replied as he pointed to the two pokemon sitting by the cooking pot. They breathed in the smell and sighed happily as they waited for lunch to get ready.

"Like pokemon, like evolution," May sighed as everyone laughed at the two hungry pokemon.

* * *

As Drew and Kenny ventured further into the forest to look for firewood, Kenny grabbed a hold of Drew's left sleeve and pulled him aside.

"What are you up to?" Kenny asked, suspiciously.

"What do you mean?" Drew answered, feigning innocence.

"Don't play dumb with me. You've got that look in your eye." Kenny commented as he narrowed his eyes at him. Drew smirked at his best friend's comment.

"Can't fool you, can I. Alright, here's the plan." Drew said as he informed Kenny of his idea.

* * *

Once Brock finished cooking, he grabbed the bowls from May and Dawn as Drew and Kenny came back with the firewood and Misty and Mamoswine came back with the water. Ash's nose began to twitch as he inhaled the delicious aroma of Brock's cooking.

"Food..." Ash murmured as he began to stir.

"Ah, so you're finally awake, Ash. I should have known that food would wake you up," Brock remarked, chuckling. Ash got up slowly and when he spotted Misty, he walked over to her.

"Um, sorry about the prank I played on you, Mist. It was just a joke." Ash told her.

"Yeah, well, it wasn't very funny. You know that I'm afraid of bugs, but you still made fun of me. I don't see you making fun of anyone else's fears," Misty pointed out, hurt.

'Number 3 'He will treat you differently to others' check.' May thought.

"I'm sorry. Please can you forgive me?" Ash pleaded, giving her a puppy dog look. Misty looked at him and felt her resistance barrier break.

"You're not completely forgiven mister, but it will do for now." Misty informed, making Ash smile. Just as Ash was about to walk over to the table, Drew and Kenny filled Ash in on their plan, making him grin. He nodded in agreement and sat down at the table.

"So, what's for lunch, Brocko?" Ash inquired as Brock finished dishing out the pokemon food and sat down at the table.

"It's my famous Brock stew!" Brock announced as he handed Ash a bowl. Ash wasted no time and finished it in no time flat.

"Boy. I've tasted many people's cooking, but apart from my mum, I have to say that yours is definitely the best!" Ash exclaimed.

"Thank you," Brock replied, gratefully.

"Hey May, aren't you coming to eat?" Drew questioned.

"Yeah, I just need to feed Munchlax and Snorlax." May responded. "Pink surprise for Munchlax and purple surprise for Snorlax." May said as she tossed the small pink pokeblock and the larger purple pokeblock in the air. Munchlax and Snorlax ate their respective Pokeblock before their stomachs inflated and they went to sleep. May smiled and shook her head at the two pokemon as she walked over to the table and sat down. The seating arrangements were as follows: May was in the middle of one side, with Drew on her left side and Brock on her right side; Dawn was in the middle on the other side with Misty on her left side and Kenny on her right side; Ash sat at the end next to Kenny and Drew and Max sat at the other end next to Misty and Brock. Drew handed her a bowl and smiled at him in thanks. She was about to eat when suddenly…

"Spinarak!" Kenny shouted as he pointed towards the trees, making everyone look there.

"Where!?' Misty shrieked as she jumped up from her seat. With May distracted, Drew grabbed one of the empty bowls that he had hidden under the table and swapped it with May's.

"Uh, sorry, it must have been something else," Kenny admitted, sheepishly. Misty glared at him before going back to her food. May turned back and saw that something was wrong.

"Where's my food?" May wondered as she looked at the empty bowl.

"I just gave it to you, May." Drew replied.

"I know, but…" May trailed off, confused. "Brock, can I have some more stew, please?" May asked.

"Sure." Brock agreed as he refilled her bowl and passed it to her.

"Thanks." May responded. Once again, May was about to eat when…

"Dawn, what's that in your hair?" Drew questioned as he pointed to her head.

"What!?" Dawn yelled as she started messing around with her hair, grabbing everyone's attention. Quickly, Ash swapped May's bowl with another empty one. This time, Max caught a glimpse of what they were doing and looked at Drew. Drew looked at him and winked before placing a finger on his lips. Max smirked and nodded in response as he pretended that he saw nothing.

"Here." Misty said as she brushed some leaves out of Dawn's hair.

"Thank you." Dawn thanked her as she smoothed down her hair and sorted out her hat. May giggled at her best friend's antics as she turned back to eat her lunch when she noticed it was missing.

"What the? It's gone again!" May cried as she looked in, under and around her empty bowl.

"Come on, May. I've told you before that you need to slow down when you eat, not eat so fast that you don't remember eating it." Drew commented.

"But, I didn't eat it. I swear!" May told him. Drew shook his head at her and went back to eating his food.

"Alright, May. I'll fill up your bowl again, but there won't be any stew left after that, okay?" Brock informed her. May nodded her head in understanding as Brock placed a bowl full of stew in front of her once more. Drew, Kenny and Ash had run out of ideas for distractions which didn't go unnoticed by Max. Finally, May was going to eat until…

"Hey May. What pokemon are you going to use in the next contest?" Max asked, directing everyone's attention towards him.

"Oh, well, I think I might use Delcatty in the appeals round and Snorlax in the battle round." May answered. While she was explaining, Kenny quickly swapped out May's bowl for another empty one. Since the boys had already finished eating, they then replaced their empty bowls with May's three bowls of stew that they had taken. As this was going on, Ash quickly called over Pikachu and whispered something to it. Pikachu smirked at its trainer before running over to Shuppet and telling it about the plan.

"Okay, now it's time to eat." May said as she turned towards another empty bowl. May growled as she slammed her hands down on the table and stood up.

"Alright, who is taking my food!?" May roared, pissed off. The four boys bit their lips as they tried to refrain from laughing.

"Pikachu, don't do that!" Ash lightly scolded as he saw Pikachu and Shuppet play fighting.

"Shuppet, you know better than that!" Max reprimanded, playfully. The fight escalated as the two pokemon started shouting and began using moves on each other.

"Hey, break it up!" Dawn demanded as she got in between them and tried to stop the fight. However, just as she got in the middle, both Pikachu and Shuppet used thunderbolt, on cue, and released two powerful bolts of electricity, shocking Dawn in the process.

"Aaaaaaahhh!" Dawn cried out. Once Dawn had finished frying, she fell to the ground with smoke lines coming off of her. "Hey, what was that for?" Dawn muttered as she sat up slowly.

"Uh, Dawn?" Brock murmured, cautiously.

"Huh?" Dawn said as she looked up and saw her hair sticking up and sparkling like a diamond. "AAAHHH! NO, NOT AGAIN!" Dawn screamed as she frantically try to sort out her hair. The four boys finally cracked and burst out laughing at her sudden outburst. It finally clicked and May and Dawn turned around to face the boys with a burning fire in their eyes.

"DREW! KENNY!" May and Dawn hollered, simultaneously, as they realised who was behind the two pranks.

"I don't know about you, but I'm not sticking around to face the consequences," Drew whispered to Kenny. "Flygon, let's go!" Drew called as he and Kenny returned their pokemon and grabbed their bags before climbing aboard the green dragon pokemon and flying off.

"Oh no you don't!" Dawn shouted. "Togekiss, after them!" Dawn instructed as she and May also returned their pokemon and grabbed their bags before they got on the white ovoid pokemon and chased after the boys.

"I think we better follow them before they do any damage." Brock told the remaining group as he packed away all the lunch things. Everyone agreed and returned their pokemon to their pokeballs as they grabbed all their bags. "Steelix, I need your help!" Brock requested as the iron snake pokemon appeared from its pokeball. "Hey, some of our friends have flown off without us, so can you give us four a ride through the forest?" Brock asked. Steelix nodded its head in response and lowered its head as Brock climbed on behind its head. "Thanks, buddy." Brock replied, gratefully as Ash, Misty and Max climbed onto Steelix's tail and held on. Once everyone was ready to go, Steelix set off and travelled through the forest as fast as it could in an attempt to catch up to the others.

* * *

Eventually, they found the four coordinators gathered in a small clearing deep within the forest. May and Dawn had been carrying their tent between themselves while Misty carried their food, so the girls decided to set up camp. Since it was already quite late, they collected firewood and started a fire as they waited for the others. When Steelix managed to finally catch up to them, they noticed that May and Dawn were sitting outside their tent, chatting in front of the fire, but Drew and Kenny weren't with them.

"Hey guys." Misty greeted as she walked over to her best friends.

"Oh, hi Misty." May replied.

"Where's Drew and Kenny?" Ash asked as he walked over.

"Over there." Dawn responded, pointing behind herself and May. Ash, Misty, Brock and Max followed Dawn's finger and found the two boys behind the tent, encased in ice.

"What did you do?" Max questioned.

"We gave them the double pokemon treatment." Dawn said. "First, I had Buneary use ice beam on Flygon which forced them to make an emergency landing because Flygon got hit and its weak to ice. Second, before they could run away, Mamoswine used take down to knock them over and I used a quadruple combination of hydro pump, flamethrower, discharge and aura sphere using Piplup, Quilava, Pachirisu and Togekiss." Dawn started.

"Next, I got Snorlax to sit on them as I decided on the perfect combination to use with my pokemon. Then, I decided on a quadruple combination of overheat, silver wind, blizzard, and water gun using Blaziken, Beautifly, Skitty and Wartortle before freezing them with Glaceon's ice beam." May finished, leaving the boys wide eyed and Misty smirking at their revenge.

"How long have they been like that?" Brock inquired.

"About an hour," Dawn answered, nonchalantly.

"Nice." Misty commented.

"Don't you think you should let them out now?" Ash pointed out, looking at the two boys.

"I guess so," May sighed, not really wanting to. "Beautifly, come out!" May called as the black and yellow butterfly pokemon appeared from its pokeball. "Use silver wind on those two." May ordered.

"Beau!" Beautifly cried as it flapped its wings and released a wind with silver crescents in it at the ice, breaking it. The boys fell flat on their faces, too numb to be able to move. Ash and Max ran over to them, helping them up as they sat the two in front of the fire, giving them some warmth.

"W-w-w-w-w-w-w-as t-t-t-hat r-r-eally n-neces-s-sary, M-May?" Drew stuttered as soon as his body returned to its normal colour and was able to speak again.

"You should know by now that no-one messes with my food unless they have a death wish, so seeing as you did it anyway, it was absolutely necessary." May stated.

"And before you say anything Kenny, you know very well that I have been sensitive about my appearance ever since pre-school, so you should have known this was coming." Dawn added. Both boys sighed in defeat, knowing they had no argument.

"Well, since its dark, I'll start cooking dinner." Brock told them as he got his cooking stuff back out. Ash and Max went over to sit by the boys and Misty pulled May and Dawn aside.

"What is it, Misty?" May asked.

"I have an idea." Misty replied as she whispered her plan to them, making them grin, evilly, as they nodded in agreement.

* * *

Within an hour, Brock had finished cooking and everyone was eating. As per usual, Ash and May were the first to finish their food at lightning speed.

"Boy, I'm stuffed!" Ash cried, clutching his bulging stomach.

"I'm still hungry!" May whined.

"May, you just ate 5 bowls of rice." Max commented.

"I know, but _someone_ didn't let me eat lunch." May grumbled, glaring at Ash, Drew and Kenny, but mainly Drew. Drew sighed and went to get something from his bag.

"Here, I have some sandwiches that I was saving." Drew informed as he tossed May the sandwiches wrapped in foil.

"Thanks." May replied, giving him a small smile.

"It's the least I could do." Drew responded, returning her smile.

* * *

After dinner, Ash and Misty decided to have a battle, to help prepare Ash for his next gym battle, so they went off with Brock, who agreed to be the referee, and Max, who wanted to watch them. Kenny had warmed up and was feeling much better, so he decided to go practice his appeal down by the lake. Dawn offered to help him as way of an apology for freezing him in the ice, so she went with him, leaving May and Drew back where they had set up camp. Before they all split up, Misty had whispered something to the girls who winked in response and nodded their heads in understanding.

"That was great!" May cheered as she patted her finally full stomach. She noticed that Drew didn't make any kind of witty remark, so she looked to where Drew was sitting. He was situated in front of the fire, rubbing his arms frantically as he shivered. May's eyes softened at the sight as she stood up and walked over to him.

"Still cold, huh?" May said, standing behind him.

"Y-yeah," Drew stuttered. May sighed and sat down next him.

"I know you were frozen for a long time, but Kenny's fine now. Why are you still cold?" May inquired, confused.

"W-well L-L-La-LaRousse C-City is u-usually q-qu-quite w-warm, s-so be-because I'm s-so u-used to it, I-I've never r-really been good w-with the c-cold," Drew stammered. May nodded her head in understanding, feeling bad about what she did.

"Sorry I froze you in the ice," May apologised.

"It's okay. I g-guess I d-deserved it." Drew murmured.

"How about I keep you warm?" May suggested as she got out a pokeball from her fanny pack. "Blaziken, come out!" May called as the red and yellow bipedal chicken pokemon appeared from its pokeball. "Use overheat!" May commanded, pointing at the fire.

"Blaz-iken!" Blaziken bellowed as its body turned a faint red and it released a white fire, with a red-orange fire spiralling around it, at the fire, increasing its intensity.

"Good job." May praised as she returned her pokemon to its pokeball. Drew smiled a little, starting to feel a bit warmer.

"Thanks, M-" Drew started, but stopped when he felt May wrap her arms around him and lay her head on his shoulder, surprising him. Her hand laying on top of his and their close proximity made Drew blush, heavily. Luckily for him, the warm glow of the fire helped to mask it.

"You're welcome, Drew!" May replied, happily, hugging him tighter, increasing Drew's blush. Little did Drew know, May was also blushing furiously, but neither one of them could see it. For some reason, Drew now felt like he was burning up, although the heat emanating from the fire had nothing to do with it.

* * *

Later that night, once everyone had come back, they all decided to go to sleep. The girls were in one tent, Ash, Drew and Kenny in another and Brock and Max in the last tent. The boys fell asleep, instantly, exhausted from today's events, but the girls were still awake.

"Alright, I think they're asleep," Dawn whispered, her ear pressed against the side of their tent.

"Okay, so are you guys ready for the real revenge?" Misty asked.

"You bet." May responded as the three girls started giggling, evilly, and went over their plan.

* * *

Early the next day, Ash, Drew and Kenny were sleeping soundly when the sudden screech of three ear-splitting screams jolted them awake.

"Misty! May! Dawn!" Each boy screamed out the respective girl's name.

"Huh?" Kenny said as he picked up the plate sitting in front of them.

"Ice cream!" Ash cried. Drew spotted a note and picked it up.

"Sorry for what we did to you all yesterday. As way of an apology, please enjoy these delicious Snowpoint bars." Drew read aloud.

"That's nice of them." Kenny commented as he handed out the three ice cream bars.

"Are these good?" Drew questioned, since they are only sold in the Sinnoh region.

"Oh yeah, they're delicious!" Ash exclaimed as he unwrapped his ice cream bar.

"But, I'm pretty sure there's something we're forgetting…" Kenny trailed off as the three boys bit into their ice cream.

"Hot!" The boys yelled as they fumbled around in the tent, looking for water. Not finding any, Ash quickly unzipped the tent and all three of them scrambled out.

"Here's your water!" Misty, May and Dawn shouted, in unison, as they raised their mallets above their head and whacked the respective boy on the back of the head.

"Aaaah!" The boys screamed as they were sent flying into the lake in front of them. Ash, Drew and Kenny emerged from the water, their hair dripping wet and annoyed expressions on their faces. Immediately, the three girls fell on the floor as they burst into hysterics.

"You should see your faces!" May managed to get out as the three boys dragged themselves out of the lake.

"That was a mean trick." Ash grumbled.

"No, it's called payback." Misty stated.

"You didn't really think everything had been forgiven, did you?" Dawn asked, incredulously.

"Well, you apologised to us, so we thought-" Kenny started, but was cut off by May.

"That was our plan. We made you think that everything was alright, so that we could pull this off." May said. "Now, you're forgiven." May told them.

"Okay, but I have to ask, how did you do it?" Drew inquired as the boys walked over and everyone sat down. The three girls sat down on a log and the boys also sat down on a log, opposite them.

"That's easy. Misty thought up the initial idea and May and I helped with the rest to make the perfect plan." Dawn replied.

"First, May had Beautifly use psychic to gently lift up all the tents and move them here in front of the lake. Then, Dawn got out the Snowpoint bars that she had in her bag and put them on the plate, along with May's note, before carefully placing it inside your tent. Of course, you know the rest." Misty explained.

"Alright, but where did you get the Snowpoint bars?" Kenny wondered.

"Candice sent me some a while back and I've been keeping them in my mini cooler that my mum sent me." Dawn informed. The boys nodded in understanding.

"Where did you get the mallets though?" Ash asked May and Dawn, referring to the weapons in their hands.

"Oh these? Misty had these custom made and bought them for us before we left on our journey. She held onto them because we didn't need them until now, so now we each have one." May answered. The three boys gulped in realisation as they looked at the three mallets. Misty had her gold plated mallet with Ash's name on it, spelled out with red gems, May had a red metallic mallet with Drew's name on it, spelled out with green gems, and Dawn had a pink metallic mallet with Kenny's name on it, spelled out with blue gems.

"Well, how come Max and Brock didn't wake up?" Drew questioned.

"I had Togekiss use safeguard around their tent, so they didn't hear a thing." Dawn responded.

"Lucky them," Ash muttered as May got Blaziken out and had it start a fire.

"Seeing as we have to wait for them to wake up, why don't you guys get dressed?" Misty suggested.

"Sure." Drew replied as he started to take off his shirt.

"W-what are you doing?!" May cried.

"Our shirts need to dry, so we're going to lay them in front of the fire." Drew stated as he, Ash and Kenny took off their shirts.

"Whoa…" The girls whispered, in awe, as they looked at boys, or rather men, in front of them. They had all changed from when they were kids. With all the training and hard work they had been doing over the years, they were in pretty good shape. Each of them had a well-toned chest and a 6-pack, albeit Ash's was more developed since he was older and had been travelling the longest.

"Why is everyone up so early?" Max muttered as he got out of his tent. He saw the 6 that were already up and walked over to them.

"May?" Max said, standing behind the girls.

"Yeah." May responded, not turning to face him.

"Why is everyone awake this early?" Max asked.

"It's a long story." Dawn added, unable to tear her gaze away from its current view. Max was confused as to why they wouldn't face him, so he looked ahead and realised that the girls were too busy devouring the boys in front of them with their eyes.

"Well, I'll leave you girls to it," Max teased as he walked back to his tent, chuckling. Hearing the tone in Max's voice made Misty manage to lift her eyes to meet Ash's. He looked back at her with a smirk on his face which snapped her out of her stupor. She frowned at him, blushing bright red, as she looked at her friends. Placing a hand under their chins, she raised their heads up to see the boys' faces. Having full blown smirks look back at them brought the two remaining girls out of their dreamlike state as they looked away, blushing intensely.

"We're going to get changed." Misty announced as the girls turned around and hurried back to their tent, leaving the boys chuckling in their absence.

* * *

Once Brock finally got up, he awoke to a fully prepared breakfast and everyone already at the table eating.

'I must be dreaming…' Brock thought. He pinched himself just in case, but soon realised that this was in fact reality. Unable to rid himself of his shocked expression, he walked over to the others and asked them what was going on. Throughout breakfast, Brock was filled in on this morning's events causing the boys and girls to blush in embarrassment and Brock to laugh at their misfortune. Afterwards, Brock went to get changed before everyone packed up their stuff and they set out on the road again.

"I can see light!" Dawn cried as she ran towards the opening in the forest with the others soon following. After two hours of walking, they had finally exited the forest and come across a lovely town with a great view of the ocean.

"This is Majolica Town." Brock informed as they entered the town. Kenny looked around and noticed a poster on the wall. His eyes brightened and he ran over to it.

"Hey, Dawn, come look!" Kenny called, motioning for Dawn to take a look at the poster. She walked over and peeked at it before a huge smile made its way onto her face.

"They're holding a pokemon contest here and it's in a few days time!" Dawn announced. "Ash, do you think your gym battle could wait a little longer?" Dawn asked.

"Fine by me. I can get some extra practice in before my battle with Roark." Ash replied. "You up for some special training, buddy?" Ash asked.

"Pika!" Pikachu responded, happily.

"Awesome! Are you guys going to enter the contest?" Kenny questioned, looking at May and Drew. May and Drew looked at each other and smiled, knowing what the other was thinking.

"Well, Drew and I already have at least one ribbon, so we'll let you two enter this time." May answered.

"Then it's you and me Dee Dee. You better bring all you got," Kenny said, confident.

"Oh, don't you worry, I plan to." Dawn told him, determination flashing in her eyes.

As our two Sinnoh coordinators prepare for battle, which one of them will come away with their first ribbon?

* * *

_**Hope you enjoyed it! Just to let you know, I won't be updating until June because I have AS exams at the moment that I need to focus on, so this will be the last chapter for a while, but don't worry, I will come back =) Please R&amp;R!**_

_**xBandanaRosesx**_


	16. Chapter 15 - The Return of Jessie

_**Hi guys! I'm back! It's been a while since I last updated, but here's the next chapter just like I promised. Enjoy!**_

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon or any of the characters **_

* * *

**Chapter 15 – The Return of Jessie **

* * *

"Where did those twerps get to?" Meowth grumbled.

"I'm pretty sure that I saw them come to this town." James replied.

"Where are we anyway?" Jessie asked.

"I believe this is Majolica Town." James informed. Jessie looked around at the town and when she turned to the left she spotted a poster on the wall. She blinked and walked forward to get a better look at it.

"Aaah!" Jessie cried as she ran over to the poster.

"What is it, Jess?" James questioned as he and Meowth walked over to her.

"They're holding a pokemon contest here in a few days!" Jessie told them.

"Not this again. I thought you gave up all that coordinating business." Meowth commented.

"Only because the twerp with the Pikachu went to regions where they weren't any contests, but now we're back in Sinnoh, I can compete again!" Jessie exclaimed.

"But what makes you think that you'll win this time?" James remarked.

"Yeah, you're not exactly the best coordinator out there." Meowth pointed out.

"Are you suggesting that I won't!?" Jessie screeched, getting up in their faces.

"N-no, of course not, Jessie. We weren't saying anything of the sort!" James protested, him and Meowth putting their hands up in front of their faces to protect themselves from Jessie's wrath.

"Good because I intend to enter this contest and I will win!" Jessie declared, pumping her fist into the air.

"Here we go again…" James and Meowth muttered under their breaths.

* * *

As the group carried on through Majolica Town, the pokemon center soon came into view.

"Race ya, Kenny!" Dawn shouted, heading straight towards the building with the red roof.

"Hey! No fair, Dee Dee!" Kenny yelled, racing after her. However, the use of the nickname made her stop in her tracks, right in front of the pokemon center doors, causing Kenny come to a halt. He saw her begin to shake, violently, and grew worried.

"Dee Dee?" Kenny said, cautiously.

"THE NAME IS DAWN!" Dawn roared, making Kenny stick his fingers in his ears.

"Alright, no need to shout, Dawn. Geez," Kenny complained, rubbing his ears. Dawn 'hmphed' and closed her eyes as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"Well, next time, use my actual name, then." Dawn told him. Kenny then mimicked her in a childish voice, angering Dawn further.

"What did you say?" Dawn growled.

"You heard me." Kenny replied, smirking, as he walked around her and headed towards the entrance. Dawn snarled before tackling him to the ground just as the glass doors opened. With the momentum of the tackle, the two began rolling backwards, into the pokemon center, before coming to a stop in front of Nurse Joy's desk, with Dawn throttling Kenny.

"Excuse me, can I help you?" Nurse Joy asked, looking over her desk. The two childhood friends looked up at her before looking at each other, blushing at their position and jumping up as they brushed the dirt off their clothes.

"Err, yes, we'd like to-" Dawn started, but was cut off by Brock.

"Nurse Joy! You can help me by healing my broken heart- Aargh! Not the ear!" Brock began but was cut off by the pain of Max tugging on his ear.

"Funny. I don't remember this being called a 'people' center." Max commented as he dragged Brock away from Nurse Joy. Everyone else sweat dropped before turning their attention back towards the pink haired nurse.

"As I was saying, we'd like to register for the contest." Dawn informed, gesturing to herself and Kenny.

"Of course, let me just see your contest passes please." Nurse Joy replied. Dawn and Kenny handed over their contest passes and Nurse Joy logged their information into the computer. "Alright, you're all set." Nurse Joy told them, handing back their contest passes.

"Thanks, Nurse Joy!" Dawn and Kenny thanked the pink haired nurse.

"So, where to now guys?" Ash questioned.

"Well, I'm going to practice my appeals. Want to come?" Dawn queried, looking at the girls.

"Sure." May and Misty responded before walking off with the bluenette.

"I'm going to go and train with Breloom." Kenny stated, walking off towards the battlefield.

"We'll come with you." Max and Drew added, following him to the battlefield.

"Looks like it's just you, me and Pikachu." Brock pointed out.

"Yeah. Want to get something to eat?" Ash suggested.

"Why not?" Brock answered as he, Ash and Pikachu went out to eat.

* * *

Over the next few days, Dawn and Kenny chose their appeals round and battle round pokemon and prepared them for the contest that was being held in Majolica Town.

"The contest is today!" Dawn cried, sitting up.

"Dawn, its 6:00am and the contest doesn't start for another 4 hours. I've already been rudely woken up once today, I don't need to be again," Misty grumbled, her face in her pillow.

"Huh?" Dawn said, looking down at the bed below her only to find it empty. "Where's May?" Dawn asked.

"She said something about going out to train," Misty mumbled.

"Wow, she really is dedicated. But, if I want to have any chance of catching up to her then I need to win this contest today, and win I shall!" Dawn declared, a fire burning in her eyes.

"That's nice, but can you take your impassioned proclamation and go tell someone else. Preferably where I'm not sleeping," Misty muttered, pulling the covers over her head, making Dawn giggle.

"Sorry about that. I'll come wake you in a couple of hours." Dawn told her, getting out of bed and heading for the bathroom. Once Dawn was ready, she exited the bathroom and looked back at Misty's sleeping figure, once more, before leaving the room with a smile on her face. At the same time, Kenny was also leaving his room, which was opposite the girls' room.

"Good morning, Kenny." Dawn greeted.

"Morning, Dawn." Kenny murmured, rubbing his eyes, with a yawn.

"Still sleepy, huh?" Dawn teased as she and Kenny began walking down the corridor.

"Yeah, but I'll be fine once I get some coffee." Kenny responded. The two headed to the cafeteria and ordered two hot drinks, a mug of coffee for Kenny and a mug of hot chocolate for Dawn, before they sat down at a table by the window.

"So, Kenny, which pokemon are you going to be using?" Dawn queried, taking a sip of her hot chocolate.

"I'm going to use Floatzel for the appeals round and Breloom for the battle round." Kenny informed. "What about you?" Kenny inquired.

"Pachirisu for the appeals round and Quilava for the battle round." Dawn answered.

"Well, if we end up going against each other, although Breloom may be at a disadvantage, I just thought that you should know that I'm going to be taking that ribbon today." Kenny stated, drinking his coffee.

"Really? That's funny because I was planning to do the exact same thing," Dawn remarked, sarcasm and determination in her voice.

"Is that so?" Kenny questioned, with a smirk on his face, leaning forward slightly.

"Yeah." Dawn replied, a smirk framing her lips, as she also leaned forward. Sparks of friendly rivalry could be seen sparking between them until Drew entered the room.

"Hi, Drew." Dawn addressed, sitting back, as he walked towards them.

"Hey guys. Have either of you seen May?" Drew asked as Kenny sat back in his seat.

"Misty told me that she left early this morning to do some training." Dawn informed as she directed her gaze towards the window. "In fact, I think that's her right now." Dawn pointed out, gesturing to the figure of a young girl in the distance.

"She is? I have gotta see this. Thanks." Drew thanked her before rushing out of the pokemon center.

"Now that's true love, right there," Dawn murmured, looking out the window, smiling.

"Yeah," Kenny whispered, looking at Dawn with a smile on his face, before turning to see his best friend, running to his girl, through the window.

* * *

As Drew approached the beach, he took small, slow steps, so as not to alert May of his presence.

"Delcatty, take the stage!" May called. The quadruped, feline pokemon with a tan body and purple fur appeared from its pokeball.

"Del?" Delcatty said, tilting its head to the right, cutely.

"I've decided to use you in the appeals round of my next contest, so I thought we could do some training. Now, I've been picturing this in my head for a while and if it comes out right, it will look really good." May told it. "Shall we give it a try?" May suggested.

"Del!" Delcatty cried, happily, as it got ready.

"Delcatty, use sing!" May instructed.

"Ca!" Delcatty cried as it began to sing and multi-coloured notes came out of its mouth, floating in the air.

"Now, jump up and use shockwave!" May instructed.

"Catty!" Delcatty cried as it jumped into the air and its body became surrounded in light blue electricity before firing it at the music notes, obliterating them.

"Ah! That wasn't supposed to happen!" May shouted, placing her hands on her head.

"There was too much power in it." Drew commented, surprising May, as he walked over to her.

"Huh? Oh, hey Drew!" May greeted with a smile on her face. Drew smirked at her and flicked his hair before responding.

"Training in the morning, May? That has to be a first," Drew remarked.

"Well, you once said 'you always have to keep trying to get better or someone will pass you by'". May reminded. "Plus, if I want to stay ahead of you, then extra training is necessary." May added.

"I'm glad to see that you're taking my advice." Drew replied, a small smile on his face. "Anyway, I just came to see how you were doing, but it looks like you're having a bit of trouble. Do you want some help?" Drew questioned.

"Yes, please." May responded.

"Okay, first things first, what was it that you imagined would happen?" Drew inquired.

"So, after having Delcatty use sing, I was going to have it jump up and use shockwave on the music notes, making them explode into a colourful firework display." May described.

"Right and what moves can Delcatty use again?" Drew queried.

"Sing, shockwave, double edge and ice beam." May answered. Drew took in this information and thought for a moment before an idea came to him.

"I think I know how to fix your problem." Drew told her. "Can I borrow Delcatty for a second?" Drew asked.

"Sure. Go ahead." May agreed. "Delcatty, Drew has an idea for your appeal, so he's going to use you to demonstrate it, okay?" May informed.

"Del." Delcatty said, nodding his head.

"Alright, once again, Delcatty, use sing!" Drew commanded.

"Ca!" Delcatty cried as it began to sing and multi-coloured notes came out of its mouth, floating in the air.

"Now, this time, use ice beam while spinning!" Drew commanded.

'What's he up to?' May thought.

"Delca!" Delcatty cried as it stood on its right back leg and spun around as a light blue ball formed in its mouth. It then released light blue beams at the music notes, encasing each one in ice.

"Finish this up with shockwave!" Drew commanded.

"Catty!" Delcatty cried as it jumped into the air and its body became surrounded in light blue electricity before firing it at the music notes, making them all explode into a huge colourful fireworks display.

"Wow…" May breathed, eyes sparkling, at the beautiful sight before her. Delcatty landed on its paws and Drew placed his right arm across his stomach as both of them took a bow. "That was it! That was what I imagined! Thanks so much, Drew!" May exclaimed as she kissed him on the cheek before pulling away with a pink tint spread across her face and a bright smile tugging at her lips.

"W-what was that for?" Drew stuttered, blushing bright red.

"Well, whenever I do well or just to say thanks, you give me roses, so I'll do the same, but with those." May stated.

"Actually, I give your pokemon roses." Drew corrected, even though it was a lie, knowing she still believed it.

"Fine, but some of them are for me, so like that, I gave you something." May replied as Drew flicked his hair and regained his composure.

"Okay, well, I'm going to go and get some breakfast. Are you coming?" Drew asked.

"In a minute. I just need to feed Delcatty." May told him. Drew nodded and headed back towards the pokemon center, tossing a red rose over his shoulder which May caught with ease.

"Who is it for?" May inquired.

"Delcatty, of course. It was the one that did all the hard work." Drew called back, not turning to face her, as he walked away.

'Typical Drew.' May thought, shaking her head. She looked down at the rose in her hands, smiling as she stroked the delicate petals. Suddenly, a lightbulb went off in her head as she blinked and turned back to face Delcatty with a determined look in her eye.

"Hey Delcatty, come here for a sec," May beckoned as the feline pokemon sauntered over to her. She whispered her idea into Delcatty's ear and it pulled away, nodding its head in understanding. "Okay, from the top!" May instructed as Delcatty performed the appeal, for the third time, with a slight change at the end. "Perfect," May whispered, a big smile on her face, as she held the rose close to her heart.

* * *

A few hours later, the whole group gathered together and headed for the contest hall. As soon as they entered, everyone exchanged good luck messages with Dawn and Kenny before the two of them went off to get changed and the others went to go sit in the stands. Ash was sitting in the aisle seat and everyone was else sitting to the right of him as follows: Misty, May, Drew, Max and Brock. Pikachu and Buneary were all dressed in their cheering outfits, as per usual, ready to cheer on the two coordinators.

"Beautifly, come out." May called. The black and yellow butterfly pokemon appeared from its pokeball. "Do you want to watch the contest?" May asked.

"Beau!" Beautifly cried as it fluttered over to Pikachu and Buneary and sat next to them.

"Masquerain, you come out too." Drew summoned. The eyeball pokemon appeared from its pokeball and looked at its trainer, confused.

"You can watch the contest with Beautifly." Drew told his pokemon.

"Mas!" Masquerain exclaimed, happily, as it fluttered over to Beautifly and sat beside it.

"Aww, those two are so cute!" Misty cooed

"Yeah, it is sweet." Ash agreed, looking at the two winged pokemon sitting together.

"I wasn't talking about them." Misty commented, slyly, with a smirk on her face, making May and Drew blush from her words. After May and Drew finished protesting, Marian came out onto the stage.

"Good morning folks and welcome to the Majolica Town contest! My name's Marian and I'll be your MC! The first and second round will be a single appeal followed by a single battle and the winner of the contest will receive this gorgeous ribbon." Marian explained, displaying the Majolica ribbon. "Here are our judges. Chief of the pokemon activities committee, Mr Contesta!" Marian announced.

"How nice to see everyone." Mr Contesta replied.

"President of the pokemon fan club, Mr Sukizo!" Marian announced.

"Remarkable!" Mr Sukizo responded, loudly.

"And finally, our very own, Nurse Joy!" Marian announced.

"I can't wait to see all the pokemon and their trainers." Nurse Joy commented.

"Okay, let's get this contest underway by bringing out our first contestant, Dawn!" Marian called as Dawn came out onto the stage. She was wearing a pastel yellow, knee-length, sleeveless dress with a white belt across the waist and a white collar. This was accompanied by a pair of yellow flats. Her hair was up in a high ponytail and she had minimal make-up on.

"Alright, go Dawn!" May shouted.

"Pika!" Pikachu encouraged, waving its fans.

"Bun Bun!" Buneary cheered, shaking its pompoms.

"Beau!" Beautifly cried, fluttering its wings.

"Mas!" Masquerain exclaimed, flapping its wings.

"Pachirisu, spotlight!" Dawn instructed. The small, white squirrel pokemon appeared from its pokeball with an ele-seal on it. Pachirisu was released from a barrage of yellow electric bolts that shot upwards.

Pachirisu, use sweet kiss!" Dawn instructed.

"Chipa Chi!" Pachirisu yelled as it blew kisses, launching multiple pink hearts into the air.

"Now, use discharge!" Dawn instructed.

"Chi!" Pachirisu yelled as its cheeks started to release light blue sparks and it fired tons of light blue beams of electricity at the hearts. The pink hearts became electrified as they all glowed with a light blue electric outline.

"Jump and up and use spark!" Dawn instructed.

"Pa Chi!" Pachirisu yelled as blue sparks appeared on its cheeks. It jumped up as its body became surrounded by light blue electricity and it bounced from heart to heart, leaving a blue electric trail behind itself.

"Would you look at that!? Pachirisu's using those hearts as platforms to dance around, gracefully, whilst the blue electricity is following and twirling around like a ribbon. It's simply a wondrous sight." Marian commented, in awe.

"Finish it up with super fang!" Dawn instructed.

"Chipa!" Pachirisu yelled as its two front teeth began to glow white and they grew longer. It jumped up and bit into each of the electrified hearts causing blue and pink sparkles to rain down upon them. Dawn and Pachirisu took a bow together, signalling the end of their performance, as the crowd broke out into cheers and applause.

"And that wraps up a beautiful appeal! What did you think, judges?" Marian asked.

"The use of Pachirisu's electric attacks to show off its elegance and cuteness was an excellent idea." Mr Contesta replied.

"Remarkable!" Mr Sukizo exclaimed.

"The brightness of Pachirisu's electricity shows that Dawn keeps her pokemon in tip top condition." Nurse Joy responded. Dawn thanked the judges before heading back to the waiting room.

"Pretty good, Dee Dee, but it won't be good enough." Kenny told her, walking towards the door.

"We'll just see about that." Dawn said as she walked past him and he exited the room.

"The next contestant is Kenny!" Marian called as Kenny came out onto the stage. He was wearing a long dark green shirt, with folded sleeves, on top of a black t-shirt with a twisted whirlpool on it. This was accompanied by a pair of black jeans and dark green converse.

"You can do it, Kenny!" Drew shouted, leaning forward.

"Pika!" Pikachu encouraged, waving its fans.

"Bun Bun!" Buneary cheered, shaking its pompoms.

"Beau!" Beautifly cried, fluttering its wings.

"Mas!" Masquerain exclaimed, flapping its wings. Kenny looked up and flashed his friends grin along with a thumbs up before starting his performance. Drew sat back and noticed May looking at him, from the corner of his eye.

"What?" Drew asked, turning to face her.

"Nothing. It's just that, I don't think I've ever seen you cheer for someone before." May pointed out.

"Well, he is my best friend, so why wouldn't I?" Drew questioned, confused.

"No reason. It's nice, that's all." May replied, turning her attention back to the stage. Drew blinked and turned back as well, but not before hearing May's last words. "I hope you do that for me," May whispered to herself, not realising Drew had heard, making him smile.

"Always for you," Drew murmured, loud enough for May to hear causing her lips to curve up into a smile. Misty watched the two of them and smiled to herself.

'You would never guess that those two ever fell out.' Misty thought before directing her gaze to Kenny's performance.

"Floatzel, hit it!" Kenny ordered. The orange weasel pokemon appeared from its pokeball with a foamy seal on it. Floatzel was released from a large number of blue bubbles and stood in front of its trainer.

"Floatzel, use whirlpool!" Kenny ordered.

"Floa!" Floatzel roared as it raised its arms and a large whirlpool appeared above its head. It then threw it high into the air and prepared for its next move.

"Spin and use aqua jet!" Kenny ordered.

"Tzel!" Floatzel roared as its body became surrounded by water and it shot up into the air, like a rocket, spinning through the large whirlpool. It increased the power of its attack as it encased itself within the vortex of water, showcasing its strength.

"Now, use ice fang on the ground!" Kenny ordered.

"Floa-tzel!" Floatzel roared as its fangs began to glow light blue and it released two light blue beams from its fangs, aiming them at the ground below it. As it flew across the stage, multiple ice pillars, of varying heights, formed along the entire field. Floatzel directed its way in and out of the pillars, the glow of the ice causing Floatzel to glisten within the water.

"Let's finish this up with razor wind!" Kenny ordered.

"Floatzel!" Floatzel roared as shot straight up, into the air, as the two fins on its arms began to glow white. Still rotating within the aqua pool, multiple white crescent-shaped energy discs were released from Floatzel's swinging arms, in all directions, shattering all the ice pillars below it. Floatzel stopped its attacks and somersaulted its way back to the ground, surrounded by the sparkles of the former ice pillars. As it landed on the ground, it placed its hands on its hips and stood tall, signalling the end of its performance, as the crowd broke out into cheers and applause.

"That was an awe-inspiring performance!" Marian complimented. "What did you think, judges?" Marian asked.

"Utilising the entire stage made for an effective appeal and worked in their favour as well." Mr Contesta replied.

"Yes, remarkable!" Mr Sukizo exclaimed.

"The gorgeous shine that Floatzel's body gives off just goes to show how well looked after it is." Nurse Joy responded. Kenny bowed towards the judges before leaving the stage.

"That was awesome, Kenny!" Dawn cried, running up to him as soon as he entered the room.

"Hey, thanks Dawn." Kenny thanked her as the two walked over to the screen to watch the rest of the appeals.

* * *

"Alright, time for our final contestant! It's Jesslana!" Marian called as Jessie, disguised as Jesslana, came out onto the stage. She was wearing a sapphire blue, Chinese style fish tail dress with a black silhouette of a rayquaza on it. This was accompanied by a pair of black 4 inch heels and a silver choker. She wore a black and silver masquerade mask and had her hair in its normal style.

"Hello everyone!" Jesslana greeted as she blew kisses at the audience. "Pumpkaboo, its showtime!" Jesslana commanded. The bipedal, pink pumpkin pokemon appeared from its pokeball with a smoke seal on it. Pumpkaboo was released from a cloud of black smoke.

"Wow! A pumpkaboo! You don't see those around here!" Marian commented, awestruck.

"Go on, Jess, I mean Jesslana!" James cheered.

"Show 'em what you're made of!" Meowth encouraged.

"Wobuffet!" Wobuffet yelled.

"Pumpkaboo, shadow ball!" Jesslana commanded.

"Boo!" Pumpkaboo shouted as it formed multiple balls of black and purple energy, with black static around them, before launching them into the air.

"Dark pulse!" Jesslana commanded.

"Pump-ka!" Pumpkaboo shouted as it formed a pink orb in front of itself and fired a beam of purple circles at the shadow balls, surrounding them.

"Now, frustration!" Jesslana commanded.

"Pumpkaboo!" Pumpkaboo shouted as its body and eyes began to glow bright red and it puffed out white smoke. It then charged into each of the shadow pulses causing each one to explode in a shower of black and purple sparks. Pumpkaboo floated back down and rested on Jesslana's outstretched right arm, signalling the end of the performance, as the crowd broke out into cheers and applause.

"What a dark performance!" Marian remarked. "What did you think, judges?" Marian asked.

"The use of dark and ghost type moves to show off its ghostly nature made for a great appeal." Mr Contesta replied.

"Remarkable!" Mr Sukizo exclaimed.

"Pumpkaboo's brightly glowing eyes show that is a very healthy pokemon." Nurse Joy responded. Jesslana walked off the stage, laughing with joy and pride.

"Let's go and see Dawn and Kenny, shall we?" Misty suggested. Everyone nodded their head in agreement and left the stands.

"The judges are going to vote and the results will be in soon, so sit tight!" Marian announced.

"I'm so nervous!" Dawn cried.

"Why? You've done this thousands of times, Dee Dee." Kenny told her.

"I know, but I can't help it. I always feel like this." Dawn informed.

"That's a good thing." Brock cut in as he and the others entered the room.

"What do you mean?" Dawn asked.

"If you're nervous about something then it means you're worried. In this case, you're worried that you won't get in, so being nervous is a good sign because it means that this is important to you." Brock explained.

"Oh, that makes sense. Thanks, Brock." Dawn thanked him.

"Dawn, you're appeal was amazing!" May praised as she clasped Dawn's hands in her own.

"Thanks, May!" Dawn responded, happily.

"Yours was great too, man." Drew added as he gave Kenny a hi-five.

"Of course. It was much better than Dee Dee's over here," Kenny replied, smugly.

"Why you-" Dawn growled, but was cut off by the sound of Marian's voice.

"Okay, folks, the results are in!" Marian proclaimed. Dawn and Kenny stopped what they were doing and turned their full attention to the screen. "These are the lucky eight coordinators going through to the next round!" Marian declared as the pictures of coordinators appeared on the screen. The order went as follows: Kenny, Dawn, Jesslana and five other random coordinators.

"Of course." Jesslana murmured with her arms crossed, her eyes closed and a smirk on her face.

"Our girl's in!" James cheered.

"Wobuffet!" Wobuffet yelled.

"Alright! We did it!" Dawn and Kenny exclaimed as they hugged each other. They then realised what they were doing and let go of each other, blushing.

"Ha! Told you my appeal was better," Kenny sneered as he crossed his arms and turned to face her, distracting the both of them from their momentary embarrassment.

"So what? I don't care," Dawn muttered as she crossed her arms and turned away from him, pouting.

"I just was kidding, Dee Dee." Kenny said, pulling her into him for a one armed hug, making Dawn blush.

"Yeah, well, you may have beaten me in the appeals, but I'm going to beat you in the finals." Dawn told him, determination in her eyes.

"Bring it on," Kenny breathed, the electric sparks of rivalry returning.

"Here are the match-ups for the next round!" Marian announced. The computer shuffled the pictures and displayed the battles. The first battle was between Dawn and Kenny, the second was between Jesslana and a random coordinator and the third and fourth were between four different coordinators.

"Ah!" Dawn and Kenny cried, shocked.

"Looks you guys won't get to wait that long." Max pointed out.

"Oh well, there was always a possibility that this was going to happen, so here's to a good battle, Dawn." Kenny said, holding out his hand.

"Yeah." Dawn responded, shaking his hand.

"Alright, we're going to head back, but do your best you guys!" Ash encouraged as he and the others ran off to ensure that they made it back to their seats before the battle started.

* * *

"Okay, it's time for our first battle between Dawn and Kenny. 5 minutes on the clock and go!" Marian announced.

"Quilava, spotlight!" Dawn instructed. The blue and cream, slim quadruped pokemon appeared from its pokeball with a fire seal on it. It was released from a burst of orange flames.

"Breloom, hit it!" Kenny ordered. The green bipedal, mushroom, kangaroo pokemon appeared from its pokeball with a line seal on it. It was released from multiple yellow lines that spread out.

"Quilava, use flamethrower!" Dawn instructed.

"Qui-lava!" Quilava roared as it fired up the flames on its head and back and released a spiralling red-orange stream of fire from its mouth at its opponent.

"Breloom, control those flames!" Kenny ordered. Breloom nodded and turned around as it waited for the flamethrower to approach. When it got close enough, Breloom began rotating its tail as it spun the flamethrower around, manipulating the attack.

"Would you look at that? Even at a disadvantage, Breloom is playing with that fire." Marian commented as Dawn lost 1/5 of her points. As Breloom shook off the flames, Kenny smirked over at Dawn, making her grit her teeth in annoyance.

"Breloom, use mach punch!" Kenny ordered.

"Breloom!" Breloom cried as its fist became covered in a white orb and, before Dawn had the chance to give a command, punched Quilava, knocking it back.

"Quilava, use flame wheel!" Dawn instructed.

"Lava!" Quilava roared as it ran towards Breloom and its body became engulfed by flames.

"Breloom, knock it back with energy ball!" Kenny ordered.

"Bre-loom!"" Breloom cried as it opened its mouth and a green energy ball appeared in front of it. It then fired the ball at Quilava and was about to hit when…

"Swift!" Dawn instructed, quickly.

"Qui!" Quilava roared as multiple yellow stars emerged from the flames and surrounded Quilava as it rolled towards Breloom.

"Well, it seems Quilava has formed itself a swift barrier. Appealing yet effective." Marian commented.

"Hey! It's the counter-shield!" Ash noticed, happy that his friends were using his techniques to help them in battle.

"You're very proud of that move, aren't you?" Misty realised.

"Of course. It's so good that everyone's using it." Ash pointed out, smugly, before Misty bopped him in the head with her fist.

"I don't recall myself ever using that particular technique, so don't let it go to your head, Mr Pokemon Master," Misty reprimanded before turning back towards the battle. As the energy ball collided with the swift, an explosion ensued, but Quilava remained unharmed. With no time to counter, Quilava slammed into Breloom, pushing it backwards. Kenny frowned as he lost 1/3 of his points.

"Breloom, stun spore!" Kenny ordered.

"Bre!" Breloom cried as it recovered from its attack and released an orange mist from the holes on its head at Quilava while it was still in close range.

"Quilava, use flamethrower!" Dawn instructed. However, instead of attacking, Quilava found itself unable to move.

'Oh no, it's paralysed." Dawn thought.

"Mach punch!" Kenny ordered.

"Breloom!" Breloom cried as its fist became covered in a white orb and punched Quilava, sending it flying back. Dawn lost ¼ of her points.

"Quilava, are you okay?" Dawn asked, concerned. Quilava struggled to get its feet, but eventually managed to do so signifying that it hadn't given up yet.

"Now, use energy ball!" Kenny ordered.

"Smokescreen." Dawn instructed, immediately.

"Quilava!" Quilava roared as it released a thick black smoke from its mouth, enveloping the entire stage in darkness. Breloom stopped its attack as it whipped its head around, frantically, looking for Quilava.

"Use swift!" Dawn instructed.

"Qui!" Quilava roared as multiple yellow stars came flying out of the smoke, straight towards Breloom, knocking it over.

"Stay calm, Breloom! Don't panic and try to sense Quilava's moments!" Kenny ordered.

"Bre." Breloom replied as it nodded its head and closed its eyes. Meanwhile, Dawn looked over at Quilava and noticed that it was breathing heavily.

'Quilava only has a little bit of steam left. Better finish this quick.' Dawn thought.

"Quilava, finish this with flamethrower!" Dawn instructed.

"Qui-lava!" Quilava roared as it jumped into the air, fired up the flames on its head and back and released a spiralling red-orange stream of fire from its mouth at the smoke, where Breloom was standing. However, once the attack was launched, Quilava was met with the sound of silence.

"Qui?" Quilava said, confused.

"Sky uppercut!" Kenny ordered.

"Loom!" Breloom cried as one of its claws began to glow light blue and it jumped up.

"Behind you!" Dawn shouted. Quilava turned around, only to be met by an uppercut to the face, sending it hurtling to the ground. Once the smoke cleared, Quilava was shown to be lying on the ground, knocked out. Three Xs appeared on the judges' panel, signalling the end of the battle.

"Quilava is out for the count which means that the winner of this battle is Kenny!" Marian declared as Kenny and Breloom's picture appeared on the screen. The crowd broke out into cheers and applause. Walking over to her pokemon, Dawn bent down and patted it on the back.

"Thanks, Quilava, you battled hard. Now, take a good rest," Dawn murmured as she returned her pokemon to its pokeball and walked over to Kenny. "Good battle." Dawn commented, holding out her hand.

"Yeah." Kenny responded, taking her hand.

* * *

Jesslana won her quarter-final battle as well her semi-final battle and advanced to the final stage along with Kenny.

"Alright folks, our final battle will be between Kenny and Jesslana. Begin!" Marian announced.

"Breloom, hit it!" Kenny ordered. The green bipedal, mushroom, kangaroo pokemon appeared from its pokeball with a line seal on it. It was released from multiple yellow lines that spread out.

"Yanmega, its showtime!" Jesslana commanded. The large, dark green dragonfly pokemon appeared from its pokeball with a heart seal on it. It was released from a cloud of big black hearts.

"Win this, Kenny!" Dawn cheered. She had changed out of her contest outfit and was now sitting with the others, next to Ash.

"Go, Jesslana!" Meowth encouraged.

"Wobuffet!" Wobuffet yelled.

"Breloom, use energy ball!" Kenny ordered.

"Bre-loom!"" Breloom cried as it opened its mouth and a green energy ball appeared in front of it. It then fired the ball at Yanmega.

"Yanmega, use steel wing!" Jesslana commanded.

"Yan!" Yanmega bellowed as both of its wings began to glow white and it shot forward. It cut the energy ball, cleanly, in two, gaining energy from the move as it headed straight for Breloom.

"Stun spore!" Kenny ordered.

"Bre!" Breloom cried as it released an orange mist from the holes on its head at Yanmega as soon as it was close enough.

"Quick, use silver wind!" Jesslana commanded.

"Yan-me!" Yanmega bellowed as its wings began to flash white and it flapped them, releasing a wind with silver crescents in them. Propelling itself off the ground, the silver wind struck Breloom while Yanmega used it to make a stylish dodge. Kenny lost 1/3 of his points.

"Breloom, sky uppercut!" Kenny ordered.

"Loom!" Breloom cried as one of its claws began to glow light blue and it jumped up.

"Sonic boom!" Jesslana commanded.

"Yan! Yan!" Yanmega bellowed as its wings began to glow white and it waved its wings, releasing multiple small shockwaves at Breloom, knocking it to the ground. Kenny lost 1/5 of his points. Jesslana crossed her arms and smirked at Kenny, making him clench his fists in annoyance. Looking at the screen, Dawn grew worried.

'Come on, Kenny.' Dawn thought.

"Let's get this over with. Yanmega, ancient power!" Jesslana commanded.

"Yan-mega!" Yanmega bellowed as its body began to glow white and it created a silver ball in front of its body before launching it at Breloom. Kenny blinked as an idea came to him.

"Breloom, use energy ball!" Kenny ordered.

"Bre-loom!"" Breloom cried as it opened its mouth and a green energy ball appeared in front of it. It then fired the ball at the ancient power, the collision resulting in fireworks. Suddenly, Yanmega was punched to the side.

"Huh?" Jesslana said, confused. "Yanmega, ancient power, again!" Jesslana commanded.

"Yan-mega!" Yanmega bellowed as its body began to glow white and it created a silver ball in front of its body before launching it at Breloom.

"Breloom, use energy ball, once more!" Kenny ordered.

"Bre-loom!"" Breloom cried as it opened its mouth and a green energy ball appeared in front of it. Once again, it fired it at the ancient power, creating fireworks, and Yanmega was knocked back.

"What is going on!?" Jesslana shouted. "Yanmega, keep using ancient power until it hits!" Jesslana commanded.

"Yan-mega!" Yanmega bellowed as its body began to glow white and it created multiple silver balls in front of its body before launching them at Breloom.

"Keep those energy balls coming, Breloom!" Kenny ordered.

"Bre-loom!"" Breloom cried as it opened its mouth and a green energy ball appeared in front of it. The same events kept occurring, firework and attack, firework and attack, with Jesslana's points steadily decreasing until they were level with Kenny's.

"Well, that is an interesting tactic. Kenny is using energy ball to create fireworks that serve as a distraction while Breloom uses mach punch. Since mach punch is a priority attack, it will always hit first." Marian commented.

"Oh, so that's what you're doing. Well, not anymore!" Jesslana stated. "Yanmega, use sonic boom, full power!" Jesslana commanded, angered.

"Yan! Yan!" Yanmega bellowed as its wings began to glow white and it waved its wings, releasing one large shockwave at Breloom.

"Breloom, dodge and then use energy ball and stun spore, simultaneously!" Kenny ordered.

"Bre!" Breloom cried as it ran forward and flipped over Yanmega's sonic boom, gracefully, causing Jesslana to lose more points. Then, it opened its mouth and a green energy ball appeared in front of it as it released an orange mist from the holes on its head. The energy ball became wrapped in the orange mist before coming into contact with Yanmega.

"Yanmega, steel wing!" Jesslana commanded. However, Yanmega didn't move, paralysed by the stun spore. Kenny grinned at her before preparing for his final attack.

"Sky uppercut!" Kenny ordered.

"Loom!" Breloom cried as one of its claws began to glow light blue and it punched Yanmega, knocking it back into the wall as the buzzer sounded.

"That's time and the winner of the Majolica ribbon is Kenny!" Marian declared, looking at the points on the screen. The crowd broke out into cheers and applause.

"I lost," Jesslana realised, sinking to her feet.

"No, not again," James groaned, covering his face with his hands.

"We're not going to hear the end of this," Meowth muttered.

"Wobuffet!" Wobuffet yelled.

* * *

"Mr Contesta will now present our winner with the Majolica ribbon!" Marian announced.

"A good turnaround in the final battle." Mr Contesta told him.

"Thank you, sir." Kenny replied, accepting the ribbon. He spotted his friends waving at him before walking over to them.

"Good job, Kenny." Drew complimented.

"Thanks." Kenny thanked him. "What did you think, Dee Dee?" Kenny asked.

"First of all, it's Dawn." Dawn corrected. "Second, now that everyone has a ribbon, I am even more determined to win my own!" Dawn exclaimed.

"That's the spirit. Now, what do you say we all get some dinner?" Brock suggested.

"Yes!" The two coordinators cried, worn out from their battling, as everyone walked out of the stadium.

* * *

_**Hope you enjoyed it! I promise I will get back to updating more regularly. Please R&amp;R!**_

_**xBandanaRosesx**_


	17. Chapter 16 - Beach Blues

_**Hi guys! Thank you for reviewing, it's good to be back! This chapter will be more of a fill-in part to lead up to next chapter. For those who of you asked, Ash's gym battle will be in the next chapter. I promise! Enjoy!**_

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon or any of the characters **_

* * *

**Chapter 16 – Beach Blues **

* * *

After the contest, the group went to eat dinner before returning to their rooms. The girls were in their room, talking, not ready to go to sleep yet. Misty was wearing a long sleeved aquamarine pyjama top, with a picture of a Staryu on it, with a pair of dark blue mid-thigh length pyjama shorts and dark blue socks. She was sitting on the floor, leaning on hands which were placed behind her, with her legs stretched out in front of her. May was wearing a short sleeved orange pyjama top, with a picture of a torchic on it, with a pair of black mid-thigh length pyjama shorts and black socks. She was sitting on the floor, cross-legged, with her hands in her lap. Dawn was wearing a white, low round-neck vest top, with a picture of a piplup on it, with pink booty shorts and white socks. She was lying on the floor with her legs behind her, her feet crossed in the air, and her chin resting on her hands.

"You know, Dawn, I feel really bad for taking your ribbon because it was you that won it." May told her.

"May, you didn't take it, I gave it to you." Dawn replied.

"But-" May started, but Dawn was having none of it.

"Look, I wouldn't have given to you if I didn't think you deserved it." Dawn stated, giving her an annoyed look that told her not to protest anymore. May looked at her, hesitantly, but eventually sighed and gave a small smile.

"Okay, but you better make sure you win the next contest." May compromised

"You bet! I'm going to do so much training for the next one, but for now, I just want to relax." Dawn responded, lying flat on the floor.

"I know, why don't we spend the day at the beach tomorrow?" Misty suggested

"That'd be nice, but we already made Ash wait for his gym battle, so there's no way he'd agree to that," Dawn mumbled into the carpet.

"Leave it to me." Misty informed as she got off of the floor and walked towards the door. Dawn lifted her head off the floor and she and May watched as Misty exited the room.

"5 pokédollars says that the guys are doing something stupid." May bet, holding out her hand.

"You're on." Dawn agreed, shaking her hand, as she and May quickly got their purses and phones before following Misty to the boys' room.

* * *

Meanwhile, the boys were in their room talking about their favourite subject. Girls. Brock was wearing a grey vest top, with a picture of an onix on it, with black pyjama bottoms and black socks. He was lying on the top bunk of his bunk bed, directly above Kenny's bed. Kenny was wearing a short sleeved dark blue pyjama top, with a picture of an empoleon on it, with black ¾ length pyjama bottoms and dark blue socks. He was lying on the bottom bunk of his bunk bed, directly underneath Brock's bed. Drew was wearing a short sleeved dark green pyjama top, with a picture of a Roserade on it, with navy blue full-length pyjama bottoms and navy blue socks. He was lying on the bottom bunk of his bunk bed, directly underneath Max's bed. Max was wearing a short sleeved light green pyjama top, with a picture of a Ralts on it, with white pyjama shorts and white socks. He was lying on the middle bunk of his bunk bed, directly underneath Ash's bed. Ash was wearing a short sleeved yellow pyjama top, with a picture of a pikachu on it, with red pyjama shorts and red socks. He was lying on the top bunk of his bunk bed, directly above Max's bed.

"So Kenny, you still pumped about your win today?" Ash asked.

"Of course. I only need four more ribbons to get to the Grand Festival and, as an extra bonus, I'm one ribbon ahead of Dee Dee." Kenny answered. "Although, I do hope she wins the next one. I don't want her to get into a slump like last time." Kenny added.

"Aww, look at Mr caring. Worried about your girlfriend?" Drew teased, making Kenny blush, lightly.

"Shut up, Drew. She's not my girlfriend," Kenny muttered.

"Ah, but you want her to be." Drew commented.

"As much as you want May to be yours." Kenny retorted causing a pink tint to spread across Drew's cheeks.

"Right. I really want that airhead to be my girlfriend," Drew replied, sarcastically, rolling his eyes.

"You know, that rosy colour on your cheeks just gives you away and no, I don't need to have x-ray eyes to know that you are blushing right now." Ash pointed out.

"So what? You want to be with Misty just as much as Kenny and I want to be with Dawn and May." Drew informed.

"So you admit it," Ash said, smugly. "But yes, I do want to be with her even though I doubt she wants to be with me." Ash admitted.

"Oh come on. You three have to be stupid not to see that those girls are as crazy for you as you are for them. You're all just too stubborn to admit it," Brock cut in, exasperated. "I mean, at least you have girls," Brock murmured, pulling the sheet over his head.

"Man, I'm never getting a girlfriend. Too much hard work." Max remarked.

"You say that now, but you'll fall for a girl, just like us." Kenny told him. "In fact, I'm going to place a bet of 50 pokédollars that you meet a girl, who you will develop a crush on, by the end of this journey." Kenny stated.

"I want in on that. I say, half-way through this journey." Drew bet.

"I get the Sinnoh League." Ash responded.

"I bet the Grand Festival." Brock decided.

"Do as you please, but even if I did decide to get a girlfriend, I wouldn't go about it the way you lot do," Max mumbled as he climbed down the ladder.

"What do you mean by that?" Kenny questioned.

"Okay, let's start with Brock. He gets hearts in his eyes and flirts with almost every single beautiful girl he sees, including all the Nurse Joys and Officer Jennies, like some lovesick puppy." Max started as he turned to face Brock, making the others snigger.

"I resent that," Brock grumbled as Max turned to face Ash.

"Next, is Ash. You purposely piss off Misty so that she'll get angry and hit you with her mallet. You claim that you're scared of it, but really you're just doing it to get that attention." Max deduced as he turned to face the others. "Now, if that doesn't scream desperate, then I don't know what does." Max added, under his breath, making Drew and Kenny chuckle, but Ash heard him.

"Hey!" Ash cried, but Max dismissed his complaints as he turned to face Drew.

"Then there's Drew. You give my sister red roses which you claim to be for her pokemon. Granted, the first few may of have actually been for her pokemon, but it was clear to everyone, except May, that the rest of them been for her. Knowing this, you'd rather take advantage of May's denseness than tell her the truth because you're a coward." Max explained, making Kenny laugh.

"What did you say?" Drew growled, but Max brushed off his aggressive nature as he turned to face Kenny.

"Finally, we have Kenny. You resort to teasing to get Dawn's attention which is similar to both Ash and Drew, but the main reason you're not clear about your feelings is because you're a fraidy cat. You and Dawn have been friends since pre-school and even though you've dropped subtle hints Dawn hasn't taken notice of them, so now you're too scared to ask encase you find out that you waited too long and now you've been friend-zoned." Max finished as he went to his bag to get out his glasses case. Putting his glasses away, he lifted his head up and frowned, worried when the room went silent. Turning around slowly, he spotted all four boys staring at him with a murderous look in their eyes.

"You know, Max. No-one likes a know-it-all." Kenny told him as he and the other three boys began advancing on Max, cracking their knuckles and punching their fists into their hands. Gulping, Max discreetly reached his left hand back into his bag to get something out.

"W-well, I didn't mean anything by it. I was just making an observation," Max said, nervously, sweating profusely. The four boys all looked at each other and grinned before turning back to him and pouncing. "Kirlia, teleport!" Max commanded, just in time. The four boys landed on the floor and began fighting each other without realising that Max was gone. Just then, Misty opened the door causing the boys to halt their actions

"Hey guys, we were just thi-" Misty started, but stopped when she saw four boys in a tangled mess on the floor. Misty blinked once and then blinked twice. She remained speechless, unsure of what to say, as the two other girls burst in and snapped a picture of the boys.

"Ha! You owe me 5 pokedollars." May declared, holding out her hand.

"Oh man, I was sure that Misty was going to have to wake them up with her loud voice." Dawn replied as she begrudgingly handed May her money. Suddenly, Max appeared behind May and peered into the room, making the four boys get off of the floor and growl at him.

"Help me, May! They're trying to kill me!" Max shouted, hugging May's waist, tightly.

"You, are so dead," Drew threatened as he and the other boys lunged for him.

"Hold it!" May demanded as she stood in front of her little brother, protectively, causing the four boys to come to a stop in front of her. She turned around to face her brother and spotted Kirlia standing behind him. "First of all, I need to make sure that you don't try to escape." May realised as she took the pokeball from Max's hand and returned Kirlia, holding onto the pokeball. "Now, Max, what did you do?" May inquired, annoyed, as she crossed her arms.

"All I did was tell them the truth and now they want to hurt me because they can't accept it." Max informed.

"What did you say?" May queried.

"Well, just that Brock is a lovesick puppy, Ash is desperate, Drew's a coward and Kenny's an idiot as well as pointing out that Misty has a major temper, you're dense and Dawn's oblivious…" Max trailed off as he realised what he just said and grinned sheepishly at May.

"Oh, I see. Hahahahahahahaha." May responded as she began laughing, fakely, causing Max to laugh, nervously, along with her as he slowly started backing away. "Get him." May ordered, with a dark look on her face, as they began chasing him.

"AAAARGH!" Max screamed as he ran for his life.

* * *

The group got up early the next day. After their "little" misunderstanding, the girls told the boys of their idea and they all agreed to spend the day at the beach.

"I can't wait to go the beach!" Dawn cried. She was wearing a red strappy summer dress that ended mid-thigh with a pair of red flats. Her hair was left loose and she had a white shoulder bag, with her beachwear inside, on her shoulder.

"I know. The weather's great for tanning today." Misty commented. She was wearing a plain, loose, sleeveless yellow crop tank top with light blue denim shorts that ended mid-thigh and a pair of light blue plimsolls. Her hair was tied in its usual side ponytail, she had a pair of black round sunglasses resting atop her head and she had a yellow shoulder bag, with her beachwear inside, on her shoulder.

"Today will be a day of rest and relaxation." May announced. She was wearing a blue and white heart playsuit, with a strappy top and a pair of shorts joined together, that ended mid-thigh with white vans. Her hair was left loose and she had a blue shoulder bag, with her beachwear inside, on her shoulder. "Anyway, I'm going to go and check on Max." May informed as she left the room. Heading towards the battlefield, she bid good morning to Nurse Joy as she stepped outside. Looking around, she smirked and walked up to a particular tree, stopping in front of it as she crossed her arms over her chest. "How are you feeling, Max?" May asked.

"Not so good," Max murmured. Last night, Max was unable to run for long before he was tackled by the group of teenagers/adults. Once captured, he was picked up by Drew and Kenny and stripped of his pyjamas before being tied to the tree by Leavanny's string shot, as instructed by Ash.

"Tell me, what's it like being tied to a tree in your underwear?" May inquired, amusement clear in her tone.

"Cold," Max whispered, shuddering before looking up at May. "You're enjoying this aren't you?" Max questioned, knowingly.

"Absolutely." May answered, nodding.

"Mum and dad are so going to hear about this." Max replied.

"Oh yeah? Well then, I'll just have to tell them about the time at the Hearthome tag battle competition when you cried like a little baby," May threatened.

"You wouldn't," Max said, confident yet nervous at the same time. Sure, he cried when he was a little kid, but he was a teenager now. He had his pride and if his parents found out then his mum would most definitely make him come back home, saying he wasn't ready after his previous loss.

"Do you want to take that chance?" May queried as she reached inside her bag and took out her pokénav. Dialling the numbers to the Petalburg Gym, Max grew increasingly anxious as he began sweating.

"Wait!" Max shouted, screwing his eyes shut, as soon as May's finger began hovering over the call button. May stopped and looked up at her younger brother, expectantly. "I won't snitch, just untie me, please?" Max requested, humiliated.

"I think you have something to say to us all, first." May stated.

'Us?' Max thought, confused. Lifting his head, he spotted the rest of the group gathered behind May, waiting. Ash was wearing a green t-shirt, with a picture of a palm tree on it, with beige shorts and a pair of green vans. Kenny was wearing a white button up shirt with blue shorts and a pair of white converse. Brock was wearing an orange polo shirt with brown shorts and a pair of brown plimsolls. Sighing, Max hung his head in embarrassment and shame.

"I'm sorry for insulting you all. It wasn't my place and I had not right." Max apologised.

"Good. Now, what are not going to do?" May pressed.

"Force my opinion on others because no-one likes a know-it-all." Max responded.

"Okay, you can untie him now." May told Ash as he nodded at her.

"Pikachu, iron tail!" Ash commanded.

"Pika!" Pikachu cried as its tail began to glow white and it struck the white threads, breaking them. Max landed on the ground and stretched as Brock walked over to him and handed him a sandwich for breakfast, which he took, gratefully. Shaking her head, May turned around and noticed someone was missing.

"Where's Drew?" May asked.

"Oh, you mean Sleeping Beauty? Where do you think?" Kenny questioned, raising an eyebrow. May rolled her eyes and giggled as she headed for the boys room. "All he needs is one little kiss!" Kenny teased, making May blush as she re-entered the pokemon center.

* * *

Meanwhile, Drew was lying in his bed, awake, with his arms behind his head. Remembering today's agenda, the thought of the beach reminded him of a happy memory.

_**Flashback**_

A 5 year old Drew and a 12 year old Rose were playing together on the beach while their parents sat off to the side, watching them.

"Rose, what do you think of my sand castle?" Drew inquired, standing in front of it, proudly. He had used a round bucket to help get a smooth shape and the castle was decorated with assorted shells and pebbles.

"Hmm. It just needs a little something." Rose said, tapping her chin with her right index finger, until an idea came to her. Running over to the beach bag, she pulled out a little flag and ran back, placing it in the top of the castle. "Perfect." Rose declared, placing her hands on her hips.

"Thanks, Rose!" Drew cried as he ran over to her and hugged her leg.

"No problem, scamp." Rose replied, ruffling his hair. "Hey mum, can you take a picture of us?" Rose called.

"Sure." Their mum replied, picking up the camera and walking over to them. "Smile!" Their mum sang as the two siblings positioned themselves in front of the castle. Drew stood, with his arms behind his back, on the left side of the castle and Rose crouched down by the right side of the castle, secretly putting up bunny ears behind Drew's head as she pulled a funny face.

_**End Flashback**_

Smiling, Drew placed his head back against his hands as he closed his eyes and relaxed.

'Wow. Has it already been 7 years?' Drew thought, not noticing the door opening. Slowly creeping over to him, May stood by his bed and leaned over him, a smile tugging at her lips. Sensing a presence beside him, Drew opened his eyes only to find May's face inches away from his.

"Aaah!" Drew shouted, scrambling up as his back hit the bedframe, making May giggle. "May, what are you doing?" Drew asked, a pink blush colouring his cheeks.

"I came to wake you up, silly. You and Max still need to get dressed, so the girls and I are going to go on ahead and we'll meet up with you at the beach." May informed as she turned around and left the room. Blinking a few times, Drew chuckled and shook his head as he rid himself of his blush.

'Just enjoy today, Drew. You can reminisce later.' Drew told himself as he got out of bed.

* * *

"The sun feels great today." May commented as she stepped onto the sand and stretched. She was wearing a plain pastel yellow lace high neck bikini top with matching plain pastel yellow bikini bottoms, black flip flops and her blue shoulder bag on her shoulder. The girls had arrived at the beach before the boys and decided to change into their beachwear.

"This drink tastes great." Dawn remarked, sipping a tropical cocktail. She was wearing a white floral print playsuit with a pair of white flip flops and her white shoulder bag on her shoulder.

"Where did you get the drink?" May inquired, gesturing to the curved glass in her hand.

"From the bar over there." Dawn told her, pointing to her right. "Hold on, I'll get you one." Dawn added as she handed May her drink and ran off.

"Thank you!" May called after her as Misty came into view. She was wearing a leaf green mesh trim bikini top, with white stripes on the hem, with matching plain leaf green bikini bottoms and black flip flops. This was accompanied by her yellow shoulder bag, on her shoulder, and a pair of black sunglasses covering her eyes. "Well, well, looks like someone broke out of their shell." May pointed out.

"Only because today's a nice day and I would like to work on my tan, so if you will excuse me." Misty answered as she found a nice spot on the beach and placed her towel on the ground before lying down with her hands crossed behind her head.

"Here you go. Strawberry mocktail." Dawn said, handing her the drink as she took hers back. May sent her a grateful smile as she took a sip of her drink.

"Boo!" Someone shouted as they placed their hands on May's shoulders, making her jump causing her to sputter and spill her drink. Turning around, she looked at the culprit and narrowed her eyes at them.

"Drew…" May growled, making him smirk.

"That's my name." Drew responded, grinning. He was wearing a pair of blue board shorts and navy blue flip flops. Gritting her teeth, she snatched Dawn's drink and threw it in his face causing Dawn to gasp as she covered her mouth with her hands to prevent herself from giggling at Drew's surprised expression. Covered in the fruity beverage, Drew gazed down at himself, his mouth opening as a disbelieving chuckle escaped his throat, and looked back up at May with an irritated glare.

"Aww, is Drewy all annoyed because his "perfect" appearance is all ruined?" May taunted, in a baby voice, as she walked backwards, slowly, and took off her flip flops, placing them in her bag. "Such a shame," May finished, sarcastically, as she smirked at him before placing her bag down, beside Misty. "Now, if you don't mind, I'm going swimming," May stated, nonchalantly, as she walked towards the sea.

"Damn, she keeps getting better at that," Drew muttered as he followed her, leaving a giggling Dawn behind.

"Hey Dawn, have you seen…" Ash started, but trailed off as he spotted his favourite red-head, lying on the sand only about a metre away, before heading over to her with his trusty Pikachu on his shoulder. He was wearing a pair of red board shorts with red flip flops.

"Having fun by yourself?" Someone questioned from behind her. Turning around she noticed Kenny standing there. He was wearing a pair of green board shorts and dark green flip flops.

"No," Dawn deadpanned. "I was just waiting for the rest of you to turn up. By the way, where's Max and-" Dawn started, but was cut off by a loud cry.

"Girls!" Brock exclaimed, with hearts in his eyes, as he sprinted across the beach and laughed, gleefully.

"Get back here!" Max yelled, running after him.

"Found them." Dawn finished, shaking her head at the two of them.

"Hey Dawn." Kenny called. Dawn turned around, her mouth open slightly, only to be met by a handful of sand being chucked at her face. With her eyes screwed shut, Dawn started spitting out grains of sand from her mouth. Hearing the sound of sniggering, Dawn opened her eyes and glared at the person in front of her.

"You are so going to get it," Dawn threatened as she grabbed some sand and chucked it at Kenny which he easily dodged. Growling, Dawn continued with her assault as Kenny started running, to escape wrath, and she followed closely behind him.

"It was just meant to be a joke!" Kenny cried, running faster than before when a handful of sand brushed past his ear.

"It wasn't funny!" Dawn roared as she pelleted him with sand, from behind, and pounced on him. Landing on his back, Kenny grabbed Dawn's wrists before she could strangle him.

"Okay, I'm sorry for throwing sand at you and messing up your pretty face." Kenny apologised, genuinely, making Dawn's anger dissipate as she blushed pink and averted her eyes. "You've got sand in your hair." Kenny commented, chuckling, as he lifted his hand to brush the sand out of it. Kenny's hand lingered as he trailed it down Dawn's face and cupped her cheek. As Dawn glanced back, the two locked eyes and found themselves caught in an electric trance. Their breaths hitched as their felt their pulse quicken and their hearts begin to race. Unable to form coherent thoughts, the two of them could only focus on the vortex of emotions that whirled around them.

"Hey guys, do you wanna play volleyball?" Ash queried, from afar, unknowingly interrupting the intense moment. Blinking, Dawn coughed and turned her head away.

"Uh, sure." Dawn agreed as she got off of Kenny and brushed the sand off herself before heading over to Ash and Misty.

'Thanks a lot, Ash,' Kenny thought, vexed, as he got up and made his way over to the group.

* * *

"Okay, so how are we going to play?" Misty asked.

"Two teams of four and the losing team has to buy the others ice cream." Ash decided.

"Deal." Everyone agreed.

"So, how we decide on teams?" Max inquired.

"I have an idea. Venusaur, take the stage!" May commanded as the bluish-green, squat, quadruped pokemon appeared from its pokeball. "Venusaur will use vine whip and whoever its vines land on will be the two team captains." May explained. Everyone nodded their heads in understanding. "Venusaur, use vine whip!" May commanded.

"Venu!" Venusaur bellowed as it closed its eyes and several dark green vines came out from under the leaves on its back. It spun them around and stretched them out, landing on Drew and Dawn.

"Alright, now you two pick the teams." May instructed.

"Ladies first." Drew offered.

"Thank you. I pick May." Dawn started as May walked over, happily, and gave the bluenette a double high five. Drew was about to pick Kenny, as expected, but then idea came to mind which made him mentally grin.

"I pick Misty." Drew responded, smirking over at Dawn as she and May gasped. Misty sent her friends an apologetic glance and walked over to Drew.

"Fine. I pick Ash." Dawn stated as the boy and his pikachu walked over to the two girls.

"Then I pick Kenny." Drew replied as Kenny headed over to him and high fived him.

"Lastly, I choose Max." Dawn finished as Max walked over and completed her team.

"Looks like you're on this team then, Brock." Drew said as the tall boy headed over to him.

"Pikachu, you and Venusaur can be the judges." Ash told his pokemon.

"Pika!" 'Okay!' Pikachu cried.

* * *

The game was tied, 2 sets each, and now they were on the final set with the score at 13-14 to Drew's team.

"Alright, it's our match point." Drew informed as he threw the ball up and served using a dig, underarm hit, by using his fists to bounce the ball up over the net. May, Max and Ash performed a bump pass, forearm hit, and an overhead pass respectively, before Dawn jumped and used her hands to hit the ball which touched the ground just before Brock could get it.

"Pika! Venu!" 'Point!' Pikachu and Venusaur declared as the pointed their tail/vine towards Dawn's team. Once more, Drew served using a dig to hit it over the net which was blocked by Ash as he jumped up and used his arms to deflect the ball. This was then it hit straight back by Misty, using her hands to perform a dig, and touched the ground before anyone could move. "Pika! Venu!" 'Point!' Pikachu and Venusaur declared once more as they pointed their tail/vine in Drew's direction.

"Let's finish this." Misty decided as the points stood at 14-15 and it was their match point once more. Starting it off with a dig, Drew hit the ball over the net which was passed around by Dawn and Ash, using an overhead pass and bump pass respectively, before Max smacked it back over the net with a hit. Misty was quick to react and dived as she used a dig to hit the ball up. This was then taken by Brock who used a set to direct the ball up and towards Kenny. He jumped up and clenched his right fist in preparation as the other team stood on the guard, ready for the oncoming hit.

"Do it, Kenny!" Drew encouraged as Kenny spiked the ball, hard, over the net.

"Ah!" Ash shouted as the ball smacked him in the face and he fell to the ground.

"Pika! 'Ash!' " Pikachu cried as it ran over to its trainer, along with everyone else, and stood around him.

"Are you okay?" May questioned. Ash laughed, giddily, in a daze and gave a thumbs up.

"Sorry about that, man." Kenny apologised as he took Ash's arm and pulled him up, although he was smirking inwardly at the revenge taken for the earlier disruption.

"It's cool." Ash reassured as he patted his friend on the shoulder.

"Wait a second. Technically, that counts as a hit, right?" Brock queried as everyone looked towards Pikachu and Venusaur. Pikachu and Venusaur looked at each other and nodded.

"Pi Pikachu! Ve Venusaur!" 'Game, set and match!' Pikachu and Venusaur declared as they pointed their tail/vine in Drew's direction.

"Alright!" Drew's team cheered as they high fived each other. Dawn's team sighed, disappointed, but were happy for their friends nonetheless.

"That means you owe us ice cream." Kenny pointed out, smiling smugly, as he crossed his arms and looked expectantly at Dawn, wiping the smile off her face.

"What do you want?" They grumbled.

"Peach flavoured frozen yoghurt, please." Misty requested.

"Chocolate milkshake, please." Brock replied.

"Brownie sundae, please." Drew responded.

"Banana split, please." Kenny said as the four of them sighed once more and walked off towards the ice cream shop.

* * *

When Dawn's team came back from the ice cream shop, they found Drew's team sitting on the wall overlooking the beach, waiting expectantly. They headed over to them and handed each of them their requested ice cream.

"Thanks." Drew, Misty, Kenny and Brock thanked their friends as they sat down and began eating their own ice creams that they had bought. All except for May, that is.

"May, are you feeling okay?" Drew asked.

"Yeah, why?" May questioned, confused.

"You're not eating anything," Drew stated as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"That's because she left her wallet back at the pokemon center. I offered to pay for her, but she refused." Dawn answered.

"Of course I did. After travelling with Ash, I vowed that I would become more independent and if that means sacrificing ice cream, then so be it." May told them, crossing her arms over her chest. Drew and Dawn looked at each other and shrugged their shoulders in response before tasting their ice cold treats. Scooping up the ice cream, Drew was just about to place the spoon in his mouth when he decided to glance at May from the corner of his eye. Big mistake. May was sitting there with her arms crossed, an adorable pout on her lips and a desperate glint in her eyes as she stared at Drew's brownie sundae, longingly. Sighing, Drew reached into his pocket and took out a metal object, giving it to May.

"What's this?" May inquired, taking the item from Drew's hands.

"I believe it's called a spoon," Drew informed, patronisingly.

"Yes, I'm well aware of that, grasshead," May retorted, unimpressed, making Drew chuckle. "I meant, why did you give this to me?" May replied.

"Well, I kinda guessed that something like this would happen, so I asked Max to get an extra spoon." Drew admitted causing a smile to form on May's lips.

"Really!?" May cried, her eyes shining with hope.

"What? You didn't expect me to eat this all by myself did you?" Drew queried.

"Eeee! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" May squealed, happily, as she hugged Drew and kissed him on the cheek before taking the spoon and devouring the ice cream. Blushing, Drew placed his hand on his left cheek and smiled, fondly, at May while the others giggled at the two lovebirds.

* * *

After the beach, the gang headed back to the pokemon center and packed up their stuff as they got ready to set out on their night flight. The boys finished packing and were now waiting for the girls outside the pokemon center.

"Is everyone ready to go?" Ash asked as Misty came out.

"Wait!" May and Dawn shouted as they came running.

"What took you so long?" Ash questioned, irritated.

"Sorry, but we had to make sure we had everything," Dawn responded, annoyed.

"Too busy staring at yourself in the mirror, more like," Ash muttered.

"What was that?" Misty growled, reaching for her mallet.

"Nothing!" Ash squeaked, hurriedly, holding his hands in front of his face.

"That's what I thought." Misty said, taking her hand away causing Ash to sigh in relief.

"Okay, well, Brock and I are going to go on ahead so that we can make sure that there are still room's the pokemon center." Max informed as he released his Kirlia.

"See you guys later." Brock called as he and Max held onto Kirlia who teleported them away.

"Well, now that that's sorted, let's fly." Ash declared as he, Drew and Dawn released Staraptor, Flygon and Togekiss, respectively.

"Hey Ash, have you decided which pokemon you're going to use in your battle tomorrow?" Misty inquired as she and Ash climbed aboard Staraptor.

"Yep. Seeing as all of Roark's pokemon are rock and ground types, I'm going with Staraptor, since it's part fighting type, Sceptile, since it's a grass type, and another pokemon which I'm going to get from Professor Oak's lab." Ash told her.

"Which pokemon is it?" Misty queried, curious.

"Ah, ah, ah." Ash sang, wagging his finger from side to side. "It's my secret weapon, so you're just going to have to wait and see," Ash teased, winking at her.

"Fine," Misty huffed, crossing her arms, making Ash chuckle.

"Ready to go?" Dawn asked as Kenny sat himself behind her on Togekiss.

"Yeah, but I have an idea." Kenny proposed as he whispered something in Dawn's ear, making her smirk, mischievously, as she nodded at him.

"Hey Ash! Wanna have a race?" Dawn suggested.

"You're on!" Ash answered.

"How about you, Drew?" Dawn questioned. Drew looked back at May who shook her head at him.

"Nah, I think we'll fly at our own pace." Drew replied.

"Oh, I see how it is. If you two wanted to be alone, you could've just said," Dawn remarked causing May and Drew to blush.

"Dawn!" May cried, embarrassed, making Dawn giggle.

"Just kidding." Dawn responded. "Okay, after 3. 3. 2. 1, go!" Dawn announced, rushing the last part, as she and Kenny dashed off.

"Hey! That's cheating!" Misty yelled as she and Ash set off after them. As the two pairs flew out of sight, May and Drew took off and began to glide through the night sky.

"Wow. There are so many stars out tonight." May noticed, gazing at the twinkling dots in the sky.

"Yeah, they're beautiful aren't they?" Drew whispered, smiling, as a sudden flashback hit him.

_**Flashback **_

A 16 year old Rose and a 9 year old Drew were riding among the stars on Rose's Altaria, marvelling at LaRousse City's magnificent night sky.

"The stars are so pretty." Drew commented, his eyes sparkling with awe.

"They are, but if you really want to go stargazing then the best place to go is Majolica Town. When I travelled through Sinnoh, I went there for some R&amp;R at the beach before I headed for the Sinnoh League. It was a wonderful sight and I made a wish upon one of those stars that night." Rose recalled. "Wanna know what I wished for?" Rose asked.

"I imagine you wished that you would win the Sinnoh League." Drew said.

"You'd think so wouldn't you, but you're wrong." Rose informed him.

"Then what did you wish for?" Drew inquired, curious.

"That you'd become the world's greatest pokemon coordinator." Rose answered causing Drew to look at her, happy yet surprised. "From next year, you're going to go on a journey all of your own where you'll meet new friends, gain rivals and make loads of memories that will last for a lifetime. I know you're going to make me proud, little bro." Rose stated, holding out her fist.

"You bet." Drew told her as he bumped his fist against hers.

"One other thing, Drew." Rose remembered.

"What's that?" Drew queried.

"Stargazing can be deeply romantic and is one of the most amazing experiences around. Now, I know you're going to be popular among the ladies since you're so devilishly handsome, which you obviously get from me…" Rose boasted, flipping her long green hair, making Drew chuckle as he rolled his eyes at her. "…but, one day, you're going to meet the girl that you want to spend the rest of your life with and when you do, make sure you show her that night sky. Not only will it be one of the most unforgettable moments of your life, but you might just get a kiss in return." Rose finished, winking at Drew, making him blush causing her to giggle.

_**End Flashback **_

"So, that's what who I'm going to use in my next contest. What do you think?" May questioned.

"Yeah, great." Drew replied, automatically.

"Really? Thanks, you're a great friend, Drew." May complimented as she wrapped her arms around his waist and hugged him from behind.

"Yeah, great." Drew replied, automatically, making May blink as she looked up at him, confused, before realisation struck. Sensing that he wasn't really listening, she decided to test out her theory.

"Hey Drew, I was thinking about becoming a pokemon trainer." May lied.

"Yeah, great." Drew replied, automatically, annoying May.

"It's quite warm tonight, I might just sleep naked." May declared, blushing at her own statement.

"Yeah, great." Drew replied, automatically, making May flinch, irritated.

"You know, Harley's really cute, I might just ask him to be my boyfriend." May managed to get out, feeling nauseous at the words that just spilled from her own lips.

"Whoa!" Drew cried, signalling for Flygon to stop, as he turned around to face May. "May, are you okay?" Drew asked, worried, as he gripped onto her shoulders with both hands.

"Am I okay?" May repeated, chuckling. "Drew, are you okay?" May returned as she copied Drew's actions causing Drew to pull back and blink at her in confusion.

"Of course I am, why wouldn't I be?" Drew inquired.

"Well, you've been spacing out today and you seem quite distracted," May stated, concern evident in her voice.

"Oh, well, sorry for making you worry about me, but I'm fine." Drew responded, smiling, but the frown never left May's face. "Seriously, May, I'm fine." Drew reassured. "You know that if something was wrong then I'd tell you straight away, right?" Drew said.

"I guess so," May whispered.

"Good, but thank you for caring." Drew murmured as he cupped her cheeks with his hands and kissed her on the forehead causing her to blush "Now, stop worrying or you're going to get wrinkles." Drew advised as he turned back around and told Flygon to continue on its flight path. "You know, there are a lot of constellations up there." Drew pointed out. Realising that Drew didn't want to dwell any further on the matter at hand, May smiled as she wrapped her arms around his neck and laid her head on his back.

"Really? Like what?" May queried, making Drew smile, gratefully, as he rested his chin on her arms.

'Looks like you were right, sis.' Drew thought as he briefly glanced back at May and showed her the constellations.

* * *

Later that night, when everyone was asleep, May got up to go to the toilet. Upon re-entering her room, she passed by the window and just as she was about clamber back into bed, she paused and looked outside only to spot a familiar mop of green hair. He was sitting next to his roserade on a bench outside the pokemon center.

'Should I go?' May thought before deciding that he probably wanted to be alone, but remembering to question him about it later, as she got into bed and went back to sleep.

Meanwhile, Drew and Roserade were having a deep conversation about a topic close to both of their hearts. Rose.

"You might not remember her, Roserade, but Rose was a wonderful trainer. She cared for each and every one of her pokemon and she always put them first." Drew recalled.

"Rose, rose. Roserade, rose, rose, roserade, rose." 'I remember. Even though she caught me for you, she treated me like one of her own pokemon.' Roserade remembered.

"Yeah. That was just who she was. A great person and an even better sister." Drew described, looking down with a sad smile on his face. Wanting to comfort its trainer, Roserade climbed onto Drew's lap and patted his hands with its own rose hands.

"Thanks, Roserade." Drew thanked his pokemon as he wrapped his arms around his pokemon and laid his chin atop Roserade's head. The two of them sat in a comfortable silence until the sound of a watch beeping broke it. Looking at his left wrist, the time read 00:00am. "Ready?" Drew questioned.

"Rose." 'Yes.' Roserade answered, nodding its head. Drew nodded his head in response as he stood up, took a red rose out of its pocket and threw it up into the air.

"Rose," Roserade breathed as it jumped up, spun around quickly and released pink petals from all around its body at the rose. The red petals broke off the stem and drifted upwards, scattered in the wind, as Roserade landed on the bench next to its trainer.

"Happy birthday, Rose." Drew wished, looking up at the sky, smiling.

* * *

_**Hope you enjoyed it! Sorry it took so long! I'll try to make sure that I upload the next chapter quicker. Please R&amp;R!**_

_**xBandanaRosesx**_


	18. Chapter 17 - Conflicting Commemoration

_**Hi guys! Finally got 'round to writing the next chapter. Sorry for the wait. Enjoy!**_

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon or any of the characters **_

* * *

**Chapter 17 – Conflicting Commemoration **

* * *

As night became day, the boys were all still fast asleep, save for one raven-haired boy and his number one pal. Sitting atop a grassy hill, Ash and Pikachu watched the sun rise as the fire of determination began to build within them. Ash was still dressed in his pyjamas and red trainers with Pikachu resting on his shoulder.

"I can feel it, Pikachu. That third badge is within our grasp, we just have to battle our hardest today. Are you with me?" Ash questioned.

"Pika!" 'Yeah!' Pikachu replied.

"I thought I'd find you here." Someone piped up from behind them, making them jump. Turning around, they spotted a certain redhead standing behind them with her hands on her hips as she leaned on her right leg, wearing a navy blue hoodie over the top of her pyjamas with a pair of navy blue converse.

"Misty? What are you doing up?" Ash wondered.

"I woke up early so, knowing you wouldn't be asleep, I thought 'where would Ash go?' and ended up here." Misty answered as she sat next him, on the right. Pikachu jumped into Misty's lap and received an affectionate head rub causing it to coo, quietly. "So, are you ready for your gym battle?" Misty inquired.

"Of course! You just wait, that third badge will be mine!" Ash cried, clenching his right fist in front of his face, as a sound came from beside him. Blinking, Ash lowered his hand as he turned to the right and saw Misty giggling. "What?" Ash queried, confused.

"Nothing. You just never change that's all." Misty commented. "Mr Pokemon Master," Misty teased, nudging him in the side, making him chuckle.

"I could say the same about you, Miss Water Pokemon Master." Ash retorted as he nudged her back. The two of them eventually recovered from their mini laughing fits as they leaned against each other and resumed watching the sunrise together.

* * *

A few hours later, the girls were getting ready in their room as they prepared for Ash's gym battle.

"So Misty, I saw that your bed was empty early this morning." May remarked as she finished tying her bandana. She was wearing a short-sleeved plain black t-shirt underneath a red and black checked shirt, left open, with black ripped jeggings and a pair of black vans. Instead of her usual style, May straightened her hair and left it loose with her bandana tied around head, holding it back.

"What's your point? I got up early this morning, that's all!" Misty lied, too quickly in May's opinion causing her to smirk. She was wearing a ¾ length leaf green t-shirt, with a picture of a Politoed on it, underneath her navy blue hoodie with dark blue denim shorts that ended mid-thigh and her navy blue vans.

"You did! Ooh, tell me everything! I bet you were with Ash, weren't you?" Dawn surmised. She was wearing a short-sleeved white top, with '#SELFIE' written on it, with a black skater skirt and a pair of white converse.

"What!? No! Just because I woke up before you two doesn't mean I went and watched the sunrise with Ash!" Misty blurted before slapping her hands over her mouth as May and Dawn began grinning at her.

"You watched the sunrise together!?" May repeated, eyes sparkling.

"How romantic!" Dawn cooed, clasping her hands in front of her.

"Guys…" Misty groaned as she buried her face in her hands, making May and Dawn giggle. Just then, the door to the room suddenly burst open.

"May! You gotta help us!" Kenny shouted as he stood in the doorway, panting hard. Ash, Brock and Max soon followed as they stood behind him.

"Why? What's wrong?" May questioned.

"It's Drew. He's locked himself inside the room and won't come out." Brock informed causing May's eyes to widen.

"Oh my God! Is he okay!?" May inquired, worried.

"Yeah, but whenever we try to talk to him, he just shouts at us telling us to 'go away' and 'get lost'." Ash responded. May stood there, confused, until she remembered something.

_"She would have been 24, a week from now."_

Gasping, May grabbed Max by the shoulders and looked him straight in the eye.

"Max, what date is it?" May asked, seriously.

"Saturday 30th August, why?" Max answered.

"I know what's wrong with Drew." May told them as she sprinted off down the corridor.

"What about the gym battle?" Dawn called.

"Just go on without me! Good luck with your battle, Ash! I'll catch up with you guys later!" May replied as she turned the corner. The remaining teens looked at each other and shrugged as they headed the opposite way.

* * *

Approaching the boys' room, May stood in front of the door and gently knocked on it.

"GO AWAY!" Drew roared, making May flinch.

"Drew?" May said causing Drew to snap his head up in response. "It's May. The guys came and told me about the situation and they're really worried about you, but don't worry I didn't tell them." May added. "I'm sorry I forgot that it's your sister's birthday. It's just that I was too caught up in contest training when I should have been there for yoouuuu-" May apologised before Drew unlocked the door and yanked her inside the room by her wrist, shutting the door behind them.

* * *

"Hey, is today some sort of special day or something?" Max wondered as the rest of the group walked towards the Oreburgh gym.

"I don't think so. Why do you ask?" Misty questioned.

"It's just that when May asked me earlier and I told her, this flash of recognition passed across her eyes and she looked really worried," Max recalled, concerned.

"Aww, you're sweet to care about your sister like that, but she'll be fine." Misty reassured as she ruffled his hair.

"She's right. No need to worry!" Dawn chimed as she slung her arm around his shoulders, making him chuckle.

"Alright! We're here!" Ash cried, excited. "Hey Ian. Long time no see." Ash greeted the Oreburgh gym assistant as they entered gym. Ian was a tall man with olive green eyes and olive green hair. He was wearing a dark green t-shirt underneath a beige jacket, with the sleeves rolled up, with beige trousers and dark green shoes.

"Ash, good to see you. Are you here for a battle with Roark?" Ian inquired.

"You bet." Ash responded.

"Hey Roark! You have a challenger!" Ian called as the door to the battlefield opened and Roark stepped out. Roark was a tall man with maroon coloured eyes and spiked auburn hair hidden underneath a red miner's hat. He was wearing a black vest underneath a short-sleeved grey shirt, with yellow along the edges of the sleeves and the hem of the shirt, with grey trousers. This was accompanied by a pair of white gloves, with yellow on the edges, and black boots.

"Well, if it isn't Ash. How are you?" Roark asked.

"I'm fine, thanks." Ash replied.

"Good to hear. So, are you ready for our battle?" Roark queried.

"Definitely." Ash said, confident.

"That's what I like to hear. Let's go then." Roark decided as he and Ash entered the battlefield and the others went to the stands.

* * *

"Ash, go, Ash, fight! Battle hard with all your might!" Dawn cheered along with Buneary and Piplup.

"Good luck, Ash!" Brock encouraged.

"Beat the rock out of them!" Misty shouted.

"Thanks you guys." Ash thanked them.

"Alright, the match between Ash, the challenger, and Roark, the gym leader, will now get underway. This will be a three-on-three battle and only the challenger is allowed to make substitutions. The match will be over when all of one side's pokemon is unable to battle. Begin!" Ian announced.

"Staraptor, I choose you!" Ash ordered. The greyish-brown avian pokemon appeared from its pokeball.

"Geodude, let's go!" Roark commanded. The grey boulder pokemon appeared from its pokeball.

"Staraptor, use wing attack!" Ash ordered.

"Star-ra ra ra!" Staraptor screeched as its wings began to shine before they glowed white and it flew towards Geodude.

"Geodude, use hidden power!" Roark commanded.

"Geo!" Geodude shouted as its body became outlined in yellow and it crouched together. Light blue circles appeared around Geodude's body and as it stretched its hands out the circles shot at Staraptor.

"Up!" Ash ordered. Only millimetres away from being hit, Staraptor shot straight up, avoiding the hidden power, before dive bombing straight at Geodude. Instinctively, Geodude crossed its arms in front of itself, but the force of the attack still pushed it back slightly.

"Geodude, use rollout!" Roark commanded.

"Dude!" Geodude shouted as it curled itself into a ball and rolled towards Staraptor with incredible speed and power.

"Up!" Ash repeated as Staraptor flew straight up causing Geodude to roll straight through.

"We're not falling for that again," Roark murmured as Geodude turned back around and rolled towards Staraptor. Using one of the rocks as a run-off platform, Geodude rolled up it and into Staraptor, knocking it back with the super effective move.

"Staraptor, use wing attack again!" Ash ordered.

"Star-ra ra ra!" Staraptor screeched as its wings began to shine before they glowed white. Then, it headed straight for Geodude. However, Geodude sat there, unmoving.

"What's going on?" Dawn questioned.

"Is there something wrong?" Max wondered. The group pondered over something until Brock realised something.

"No, Ash! Don't do it!" Brock warned.

"Huh?" Ash said as he turned back and saw Roark smirking.

"Seismic toss!" Roark commanded.

"Uh oh…" Ash trailed off as he realised what was about to happen.

"Geeeee-oooooooo!" Geodude shouted as it grabbed Staraptor, floated up into the air and fell. Spiralling towards the ground at top speed, Geodude threw Staraptor into the battlefield before they both hit the ground.

"Staraptor!" Ash yelled, concerned.

"Pika!" Pikachu cried, worried. As the dust settled, Staraptor was on the ground, struggling to get up.

"Staraptor, get up! I know you can!" Ash encouraged.

"Star…" Staraptor mumbled as it got to its feet. "Star!" Staraptor screeched as it shook its head and outstretched its wings. Suddenly, both of its wings began to glow white as it zoomed towards Geodude. Before it had the chance to dodge, Geodude was slammed back into the wall.

"Oh no!" Roark shouted.

"Staraptor, what was that?" Ash inquired.

"Well, Ash, I believe Staraptor just learned steel wing." Roark remarked.

"You did? Awesome!" Ash cried. "Let's finish this up. Staraptor, use brave bird!" Ash ordered.

"Sta-raptor!" Staraptor screeched as it pulled in its wings and dived down like a missile, its body bursting into flames. Then, pulling out its wings, its body became surrounded by a blue area as it charged towards Geodude.

"Geodude, use sandstorm!" Roark commanded.

"Geo-dude!" Geodude shouted as it lifted its arms from the ground up and created a sandstorm, slowing Staraptor down. Nevertheless, Staraptor made its way through only to be met by air.

"Star?" Staraptor murmured in confusion.

"Behind you!" Ash called. Staraptor turned around and spotted Geodude rolling towards it at top speed.

"Finish it, Geodude!" Roark commanded.

"Dude!" Geodude shouted. It got closer and closer to Staraptor until...

"Close combat!" Ash ordered.

"Star star star!" Staraptor screeched as it repeatedly kicked, pecked and hit Geodude with its wings at a fast speed. With one last kick, Staraptor sent Geodude flying back as it landed in the center of the battlefield and fainted.

"Geodude is unable to battle! Staraptor wins!" Ian declared.

"Phew. That was a close one." Misty commented as she breathed a sigh of relief.

"Good job, Geodude. Get some rest." Roark said as he returned Geodude to its pokeball.

"Do you still want to go on, Staraptor?" Ash queried.

"Star." Staraptor confirmed as Ash nodded in agreement.

"You may have beaten my first pokemon, Ash, but don't think this next battle is going to be a walk in the park." Roark informed. "Steelix, let's go!" Roark commanded. The long, silvery-grey serpentine pokemon appeared from its pokeball.

"Steelix, huh? Onix must have evolved." Ash realised as he got ready for battle.

* * *

After Drew let May in, he headed over to his bed and lay flat on his back, staring aimlessly up at the ceiling. Asking if he was okay and getting no reply, May climbed up the ladder and laid down next to him, telling him he can talk when he's ready which leads to their current predicament. Lying side by side for quite some time, May eventually felt the warmth of a smooth palm sliding across hers as fingers curled over her own.

"You should've gone to see Ash's battle." Drew told her. Smiling at the sound of his voice, May shook her head.

"What would have been the point? I only would have spent the whole time worrying about you." May replied.

"Well then, I'm sorry for that." Drew apologised.

"I'm not." May responded as she laid her head on his shoulder.

"Since we're on the topic of regret, I guess I should apologise for being such a jerk all the time. Especially the first time we met. I was such an arrogant little git and I shouldn't have acted the way I did." Drew said.

"Took the words right out of my mouth," May teased, earning a nudge from Drew causing her to giggle. "Seriously though. You don't have to apologise for that Drew. It may have irritated me to no end back then, but I realise now that it was just your way of helping me. By doing that, you helped me to grow stronger as a coordinator and as a person, so I really should be thanking you." May returned causing the edges of Drew's mouth to lift up into a small smile.

"Thank-" Drew started before he was cut off by May.

"Besides, I can't help it if you have poor people skills." May added, stifling a laugh.

"Hey!" Drew cried, indignant. "At least I'm not an airhead," Drew muttered causing May to burst out laughing.

"Now that's the Drew I know." May managed to get out between giggles, making Drew laugh along with her as he rested his head against hers.

* * *

Hitting the wall behind Ash, Staraptor slid down it with swirls in its eyes.

"Staraptor is unable to battle! Steelix wins!" Ian declared.

"Poor Staraptor," Dawn murmured.

"After that battle with Geodude, Staraptor just didn't have enough strength to beat Steelix." Kenny commented.

"You were great, Staraptor. Thanks." Ash thanked his pokemon as he returned it to its pokeball. "Sceptile, I choose you!" Ash ordered. The green reptilian, bipedal pokemon appeared from its pokeball.

"Alright! Sceptile's up next!" Max cheered, excited.

"A grass type? How predictable." Roark remarked. "Steelix, use iron tail!" Roark commanded.

"Stee!" Steelix bellowed as the end of its body glowed white and it charged towards Sceptile.

"Sceptile, use leaf blade!" Ash ordered.

"Scep!" Sceptile yelled as the four leaves on its wrists glowed light green and formed into two. Jolting forward, Sceptile blocked the iron tail with one of its blades. While they were evenly matched, Sceptile used its other arm to come in from the side and slice Steelix causing it retreat.

"You know, Ash, you're going to have to do a lot better than relying on type advantage to beat Steelix." Roark informed.

"Don't worry. I plan to." Ash replied. "Sceptile, use quick attack!" Ash ordered.

"Tile!" Sceptile yelled as it shot out and headed straight for Steelix, leaving behind a white trail.

"Steelix, use dragon breath!" Roark commanded.

"Lix!" Steelix bellowed as it fired a blue beam from its mouth at Sceptile.

"Spin!" Ash ordered. Complying with its trainers orders, Sceptile spun its body around as it travelled, crossing its arms in front of its face to protect it.

"That again? Don't think I forgot how you used that last time, Ash." Roark told him. "Steelix, use your tail to stop Sceptile from getting past you!" Roark commanded, making Ash smirk. Lifting its tail, Steelix prepared for Sceptile's attack.

"Go!" Ash cried as Sceptile spun faster and faster, drilling through the dragon breath.

"What!?" Roark shouted, shocked. Meanwhile, the group in the stands just sat there and watched in awe.

"Look at that," Kenny murmured, awestruck. The green of Sceptile's body blended with the blue of the dragon breath to form a beautiful clash of colours.

"Leaf storm!" Ash ordered.

"Sceptile!" Sceptile yelled as the seeds on Sceptile's back began to glow white and it released a barrage of light green glowing leaves from all around at Steelix. Striking Steelix in the chest, the serpentine pokemon was rammed back into the wall by the force of the attack.

"Sceptile, use leaf blade!" Ash ordered.

"Scep!" Sceptile yelled as the four leaves on its wrists glowed light green and formed into two. Sceptile shot forward and drew back its arm, preparing to strike.

"Crunch!" Roark commanded.

"Stee-lix!" Steelix bellowed as it bit down hard on Sceptile's arm.

"Now, bind!" Roark commanded.

"Steel!" Steelix bellowed as it wrapped its tail around Sceptile's waist and began crushing it.

"Sceptile, get out of there!" Ash ordered.

"Scep!" Sceptile croaked, struggling to get free.

"What's Ash going to do?" Max wondered.

'C'mon, Ash.' Misty thought.

'Think. There must be something I can do.' Ash told himself. Eyes landing on Sceptile's back, an idea came to mind. Meeting his pokemon's eyes, the two nodded at each other in understanding. As Steelix tightened its hold on Sceptile, Sceptile secretly began gathering energy in the seeds on its back. Finally at full capacity, Steelix looked over at Ash and smirked at him.

"Sceptile, use solar beam!" Ash ordered.

"Huh?" Roark said, unaware of the silent command.

"Scep-tile!" Sceptile yelled as it opened its mouth and fired a white beam from its mouth at Steelix's head.

"Stee!" Steelix bellowed, in pain, as it released Sceptile and collapsed onto the floor.

"Ah, Steelix!" Roark shouted.

"Steelix is unable to battle. Sceptile wins!" Ian declared.

"Thank you, Steelix." Roark thanked his pokemon as he returned it to its pokeball.

"Great work out there, Sceptile. Return." Ash praised as he returned his pokemon to its pokeball.

"Well done, Ash. You certainly caught me off-guard there, but are you ready to face my third and final pokemon?" Roark asked. "Rampardos, let's go!" Roark commanded. The large, dark grey dinosaur pokemon appeared from its pokeball.

"You bet. With my secret weapon." Ash returned as he took out a pokeball.

* * *

"Hey Drew?" May whispered.

"Yeah?" Drew answered.

"What was your sister like?" May inquired, tentatively. When she was met with silence, she guessed that Drew was still sensitive about it. "I'm sorry. You don't have to answer that." May apologised.

"No, it's okay. There's just so much to say that I didn't know where to start." Drew corrected. "Let's see. I remember that Rose was very protective of me when we were younger. Especially when it came to my parents and making my own choices." Drew remembered.

"I can relate to that. After all, I do have a little brother of my own." May reminded.

"Yeah, but she could be bossy at times. Can you relate to that as well?" Drew joked.

"Drew!" May cried as she pushed herself away from him and crossed her arms.

"Kidding, kidding." Drew responded as he took May's hand back in his own causing a pink tint to colour her cheeks.

"So, what else was she like?" May queried.

"Well, she was one of the most kind-hearted souls you could ever meet. She was always willing to try and solve other's problems whether it was with people or pokemon. Her view of the world was very optimistic and she was a total romantic, always saying that everyone has a soulmate they just have to find them." Drew described. "However, when it came to battling she was totally different. She knew all her life that she wanted to become a pokemon trainer and when she finally got to leave for her own journey she was so prepared. Training day and night, she managed to win her first gym battle within 2 weeks. Eventually, she qualified for the Hoenn League and placed in the top 8." Drew added.

"Wow. Your sister must have been one amazing person." May commented.

"She was. But, you know, the thing I admired about her the most was that no matter how many times she lost, she never lost heart. She was confident in her own abilities and took criticism as well as giving it, not to mention her fan base was off the charts." Drew informed. "Even bigger than mine." Drew finished, making May roll her eyes.

"I wish I could have met Rose. We have so much in common." May realised.

"Yeah. I'm sure she would have loved to meet you too," Drew replied, wistfully. Noticing the sudden drop in his mood, May squeezed his hand, comfortingly, and he squeezed back in thanks causing smiles to form on their faces.

* * *

"I choose you!" Ash ordered as he threw the pokeball. The pokeball opened and a white silhouette of the orange, draconic, bipedal pokemon appeared, earning mixed reactions from the crowd.

"Charizard!" Brock, Misty and Max all exclaimed.

Zar!" Charizard roared, all fired up for its battle.

"Charizard?" Dawn and Kenny questioned.

"Just wait and see." Max told them, confusing them further as they looked at one another and shared bemused looks.

"Well, when you told me that you had a secret weapon, this was not what I was expecting. I thought you were going to bring out some ultra-rare pokemon from a different region, not a charizard. A pokemon with a type disadvantage, nonetheless." Roark remarked.

"Don't underestimate my pokemon. My charizard's one of a kind for sure." Ash retorted.

"Alright, if you say so. Let's just get this over with." Roark said. "Rampardos, use headbutt!" Roark commanded.

"Ram!" Rampardos hollered as it charged towards Charizard.

"Stop it." Ash ordered, calmly. Yawning, Charizard held up its right hand causing Rampardos to stop in its tracks as it slammed its head into Charizard's hand. Gripping its head tight, Rampardos struggled to get free before Charizard pushed it back, knocking it over.

"No way!" Roark cried.

"Whoa. Charizard took that like it was nothing." Kenny observed.

"Told you Charizard was strong. Back when Ash was travelling around the Battle Frontier, his charizard beat the frontier brain, Noland's, articuno." Max remembered.

"You mean, Articuno, the legendary ice bird pokemon?" Kenny asked.

"Yep, that's the one." Brock confirmed.

"Cool…" Kenny trailed off, in awe, as he turned back towards the battle.

"Don't let them think that you can be beaten so easily. Show 'em what you're made of!" Roark encouraged as Rampardos picked itself up off the floor.

"Ram!" Rampardos hollered, all geared up and ready for a fight.

"Good. Now, use zen headbutt!" Roark commanded.

"Rampar!" Rampardos hollered as its skull and eyes glowed blue and it became surrounded in a light blue reflective shield.

"Charizard, use dragon tail!" Ash ordered.

"Zar!" Charizard roared as a light blue glow spread up Charizard's tail until its whole tail glowed light blue. It shot out and struck Rampardos' head with its tail. Neither side was letting up.

"They're equally matched." Dawn commented.

"Rampardos, use flamethrower!" Roark commanded, his irritation growing by the second.

"Par!" Rampardos hollered as it released a red-orange stream of fire from its mouth at Charizard.

"Charizard, you use flamethrower too!" Ash ordered.

"Char!" Charizard roared as it too released a red-orange stream of fire from its mouth at Rampardos.

"Don't give in, Rampardos!" Roark emboldened.

"Keep it up, Charizard!" Ash cheered. Both pokemon increased the intensity of the attacks until heat was emanating throughout the whole gym. The fire blazed in the two proud pokemon's eyes as they glared, heatedly, at one another.

"Uh, is it just me or did the temperature just go up about 1000 degrees." Max remarked, pulling on his collar.

"Yeah." Misty agreed. Suddenly, Rampardos was knocked back as Charizard flew behind him.

"Huh? What just happened?" Dawn inquired.

"I think Charizard just used wing attack…" Brock started as Rampardos rammed its head into Charizard's back. "… and Rampardos just used zen headbutt." Brock finished.

"This battle isn't over by a long-shot." Kenny realised.

"Charizard, use slash repeatedly!" Ash ordered.

"Chari!" Charizard roared as it pushed itself off the wall and turned to face Rampardos. Its claws glowed white and grew longer as Charizard slashed at Rampardos multiple times, forcing it back.

"Rampardos, use headbutt!" Roark commanded.

"Ram!" Rampardos hollered as it headbutted Charizard in the face. "Alright, use flamethrower!" Roark commanded.

"Par!" Rampardos hollered as it released a red-orange stream of fire from its mouth at Charizard.

"Charizard, turn around and use dragon tail!" Ash ordered.

"Zar!" Charizard roared as it turned its back to Rampardos. A light blue glow spread up Charizard's tail until its whole tail glowed light blue. As the flames approached, Charizard stuck out its tail and spun it in a circle, wrapping the flames around its appendage.

"What!?" Roark shouted.

"Go!" Ash ordered. Charizard flew back at lightning speed and slapped Rampardos' around the face with its blue fiery tail. "Wing attack!" Ash ordered.

"Charizard!" Charizard roared as both its wings began to glow white and white energy shone off them at the wingtips. It then headed straight for Rampardos who was still recovering from the previous attack. It got closer and closer until…

"Catch it!" Roark commanded. Eyes snapping open, Rampardos braced itself and caught both of Charizard's wings.

"Uh oh!" Ash cried.

"Head smash!" Roark commanded.

"Par-dos!" Rampardos hollered as its body became surrounded in a whitish-blue aura, making it seem black and white, and it shot at Charizard with its head pointed at it. It slammed into Charizard's stomach, pushing it further back until Charizard smashed back into the wall behind it, shocking everyone in the stands.

"Charizard!" Ash yelled, concerned. As the smoke cleared, Charizard was slumped against the wall with Rampardos standing in front of it.

"Charizard, are you alright?" Ash queried. Wincing, Charizard placed its right hand on the wall behind it, for support, and used it to slowly push itself up.

"But how? How is Charizard still able to go on!?" Roark questioned.

"I told you. Charizard's one of a kind." Ash repeated, making Roark gasp in shock. As Charizard stood, it launched a super powerful flamethrower at Rampardos before it had time to dodge.

"Ram!" Rampardos hollered as it was burned, despite its usual resistance to fire.

"No, Rampardos!" Roark called. As the flames subsided, Rampardos coughed out smoke before collapsing onto the ground.

"Rampardos is unable to battle. Charizard wins! Which means the victor is Ash from Pallet Town!" Ian declared.

"Alright!" Ash cheered as Pikachu jumped into his arms.

'That Ash.' Misty thought as she shook her head and smiled, fondly, at him.

* * *

"Well, well, Ash. You never fail to surprise me." Roark remarked as they all stood outside of the gym.

"Nah. I couldn't have done it without my pokemon." Ash replied, modestly.

"Nevertheless, you beat me and so I'm pleased to present you with the coal badge." Roark responded.

"Thanks so much, Roark." Ash thanked him. "Alright! I just got, the coal badge!" Ash announced.

"Pika!" Pikachu cried.

"Scep!" Sceptile yelled.

"Char!" Charizard roared, using flamethrower on Ash in an affectionate way. Coughing out smoke, Ash fell to the ground causing the others to laugh at Charizard's antics.

* * *

After their conversation about Rose, May's next conscious thought was that someone was holding her tightly. Blinking a few times, she pulled her head back and found herself with a face full of green hair. Confused, May thought back and tried to figure out what happened.

'We were talking and then I guess at some point we must have both fallen asleep.' May concluded. Finally realising her position, May blushed furiously as she noticed that she was cuddled up to Drew who had his nose buried in her hair with his arms wrapped around her mid-section.

"If someone told me 6 years ago that we would end up being this close, I probably would have laughed them right out of town," May commented, quietly. Slowly yet carefully, May tried to extract herself from Drew's grip but soon found herself being pulled flush against his chest as his arms tightened around her.

"Rose… Don't go… Don't leave me…" Drew mumbled causing May to stop moving. Pulling back, she gently lifted Drew's head and brushed his bangs out of his eyes. There were tear tracks running down his cheeks and fresh tears were already pooling under his eyelids.

"Oh Drew…" May whispered, sadly, as she raised her hand to his face and carefully wiped his tears away with her thumbs. As she did this, she was too lost in thought to notice Drew stir as his bright emerald eyes slowly opened.

"May?" Drew asked, snapping May out of her thoughts as she smiled at him.

"Hi," May murmured.

"How long was I asleep for?" Drew wondered.

"Not long. Maybe about an hour." May answered. Drew nodded his head in response. Thinking back to their earlier conversations and the past few days, May finally knew what to do to help Drew. Once she'd made her decision, she realised Drew was staring at her.

"What?" May questioned.

"You look different today." Drew pointed out.

"Oh yeah. I just felt like a bit of change today." May said, looking down.

"Your hair looks pretty like that." Drew complimented as he stroked May's hair causing a pink tint to colour her cheeks. Locking eyes with him, May found herself unable to move as she lost herself in his gaze. She couldn't move away if she tried, but the little voice at the back of her mind managed to remind her of his current state which gave her the strength to break the intense stare as she sat up and climbed down the ladder.

"Come on." May instructed as she held out her hand. Climbing down, Drew took the proffered hand and May started making her way over to the door.

"Where are we going?" Drew queried causing May to stop as she turned to look back at him.

"Home." May stated.

* * *

_**Hope you enjoyed it! I have a lot of work to do at the moment for A-Levels so I won't be able to update as often as before I'm afraid. Please R&amp;R!**_

_**xBandanaRosesx**_


End file.
